Over half of women and nearly one in three men experience physical sexual assault during their lifetimes, according to the CDC. Sexual assault affects hundreds of thousands of people each year, so many call to raise awareness.
“Sexual assault does not discriminate,” said Kori Koschalk-Newmister, the assistant director of the Center for Women and Gender Equity at BGSU. Sexual violence can happen to anyone, no matter what race, gender or sexual orientation they are.
The center hosts many events throughout the year to educate the campus community about what gender violence prevention is, what the signs are, how to prevent incidents from happening, what consent is and how to intervene in situations by directing, distracting and delegating.
“We are trying to shift this culture. We are trying to make sure everybody recognizes that this is not just a one-office issue… this is everyone’s responsibility to do this work to create the environment on this campus and in this community where we don’t tolerate these types of behaviors,” said Koschalk-Newmister.
BGSU’s Office of Title IX, the federally regulated law that provides policies and procedures about sexual assault and sexual harassment, provides students with a place to report those incidents.
“We want to make sure that every student has the ability to learn more about our process if they file a complaint or file a report, as well as get the information that they need to be supported…” said Lakeshia Dowlen, the Title IX coordinator and director of the office. “It’s important for people to know where they can get help.”
The office is open for anyone to report sexual assault incidents that have happened recently, a few years ago or even before they were students at BGSU.
“It’s important for people to understand that our office is not the office that gets people in trouble. We want to make sure people are reporting for support,” said Dowlen. She also said it is important for others to have permission from the victim before reporting.
“Listen, have compassion. It’s a hard thing to talk about,” said Koschalk-Newmister, about what people should do when someone they know is going through this situation. “Patience – if somebody has gone through one of these types of situations, it’s not always easy, so being patient, empathetic, listening and meeting that person where they are… They might not be in a space where they want to move forward with things, but making sure that they know they have that support and resources is really vital.”
Sexual assault can be an isolating experience, but there are many resources and people available to help on and off campus.
The Office of Title IX, the Center for Women and Gender Equity and Gender Violence Prevention and Education Services are available for support and help on campus. The Psychological Services Center and Counseling Center are also available.
The Cocoon, Wood County’s sexual and domestic violence organization, provides various resources, including several support group options, crisis support, short-term emergency shelter, legal and medical advocacy, and children and pet programs.
Additionally, RAs and many faculty and staff are Green Dot trained, a national initiative addressing sexual violence and more with bystander education and intervention, so they are able to assist in getting students the support they need.
For a longer list of resources, visit Title IX’s page.
