7 CommentsEarlier this week, Prezbo and DSpar sent emails to all Columbia undergrads about National Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Bollinger writes, “The crime of sexual assault takes many forms and threatens everyone in society, yet it is a problem demanding special attention in university communities. In addition to the high incidence of sexual assault on college campuses, students who are assaulted can find themselves interacting with their assailants because the perpetrator resides in the same dormitory or attends the same class. In a campus environment, assaults too frequently go unreported.” He linked to Columbia’s Sexual Assault Policy, and reminded students of on-campus resources, which we have reposted below. The annual Take Back the Night march and speakout will occur on April 14th, 2010.
The University’s Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center: 212- 854-HELP
The Men’s Peer Education Program
Columbia’s Health Services
The University’s Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Program (SVPRP)
Counseling and Psychological Services (Columbia): 212-854-2878
Rosemary Furman Counseling Center (Barnard): 212-854-2092
Nightline Peer Counseling: 212-854-7777
Office of the University Chaplain: 212-854-1493
National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE
According to the famous horrifying statistic, one in four women will experience domestic violence, and college-aged females are at the greatest risk.
As we once said in a past post, please don’t underestimate the compassion, even empathy, of your friends. We were stunned by the outpouring of solidarity in this rare comment thread, and hope people will continue to show their support.
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7 Comments
@So glad to see SAAM events and info about the anti-sexual violence orgs/resources up on Bwog! Thanks so much for highlighting this stuff you guys.
@Hi there There are essentially two kinds of student position at the center: peer educators, who organize and run events, and peer counselors/advocates, who are trained to counsel survivors and co-survivors of sexual assault, as well as accompany survivors to and support them in agencies and organizations like health services, the NYPD, the DA, or St. Luke’s. Trainings for both happen both every fall. If you’re interested (and we love it when folks are), email La’Shawn Rivera, our program coordinator, at LR2520@columbia.edu and let her know you want to get involved (even a \hi, I’m interested in joining you, how can I do that\ is good. (PCAs and Peer Eds do need to identify as women, but outside of that restriction we’re open to everyone in the Columbia and Barnard student communities.)
I’m excited that you’re interested in us! Keep in touch, and I hope to see you on board.
@Hi there Agh, mobile browser + comment form = no good. That was meant to be a reply to CC’13.
@Hi there I should also note that if you’re male (i.e. can’t be a PE/ PCA), you can be a part of the Men’s Peer Education program: http://health.columbia.edu/services/svprp/mens-education%20
@An Important Month I wish that when I told people I work with the Rape Crisis/Anti-Violence Support Center, the common response wasn’t, “wait, that kind of stuff actually happens here?”
Partner violence and sexual assaults happen more than people realize in the Columbia community. This month is about recognizing and better understanding these issues, but the first step is for our campus community to realize that Columbia is not immune to violence!
So attend some of the events, have some conversations with friends you might not normally have, and overall, be open-minded and compassionate. Whether you’re aware of it or not, one of your friends, male or female, might be secret survivor of violence or sexual assault.
Thanks for posting this, Bwog.
@Hi there I also work at the RC/AVSC, and the other thing I’d love to never hear again: “we have one of those?”
And with that goal in mind – everyone’s knowledge that we are here, non-judgmental, and glad to listen and try to help – thank you so much, Bwog, for posting this.
@CC'13 how can someone get involved with the center? that’s something i would love to do next year.