SAAVI kicks off Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Utah State University’s Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information office is starting off sexual assault awareness month with a “Start by Believing” campaign.
Felicia Gallegos, SAAVI Outreach and Prevention Coordinator, said the campaign is crucial for sexual assault survivors to feel comfortable to share their stories.
“Only a small minority of victims report their sexual assault to law enforcement or file a formal complaint with university authorities,” she said. “In USU’s most recent sexual misconduct survey, more than a third of victims did not tell anyone at all. The most common reasons included concerns about privacy, shame, the seriousness of their experience and the fear they would be blamed or not believed.”
Gallegos said knowing how to respond to a victim is “critical.”
“A negative response can worsen the trauma and foster an environment where perpetrators face no consequences for their crimes,” she said. “When you Start by Believing, you help stop this cycle. Improving our personal and professional reactions encourages more people to disclose their own experiences with sexual assault so they can get essential support.”
Gallegos said survivors that aren’t listened to or believed are likely to never tell another individual about the attack ever again.
“That is not acceptable,” she said. “Survivors should feel safe to share their experience and trust that they will be connected to the resources they need. This campaign gives us the opportunity to educate individuals about how to respond.”
Gallegos said SAAVI advises people to listen with empathy and validate the person sharing their story.
She said sexual assault awareness month is important for a lot of reasons.
“It gives the university the opportunity to outwardly recognize and validate the experiences of survivors within our community,” she said. “Raising awareness about sexual violence demonstrates that the university cares. We do not tolerate sexual violence, and we are here to support survivors.”
“It also gives the university the opportunity to educate the campus community about behaviors that are considered a violation of student misconduct policy, how to practice consent and how we can all play a part in ending sexual violence on our campus.”
Gallegos said SAAVI had multiple events planned for April before everything was cancelled and closed due to COVID-19.
“For this year,” she said, “the line-up of events included Strike out Sexual Assault, Heroes Not Victims Panel, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Men’s March, Songs for Survivors Benefit Concert and Take Back the Night Community March.”
Gallegos said SAAVI will still raise awareness through their social media accounts, @USUSAAVI.
“We will be posting every weekday throughout the month including videos, stories and resources,” she said.