7/2/01
AU WOMEN'S COUNSELOR LISTS STEPS TO TAKE AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT
AUBURN -- With three sexual assaults having occurred on Auburn University's campus over the past three months, the director of AU's SAfE Harbor Women's Center, says it's important that women be aware of what they should do if they are attacked and what services are available.
Elizabeth Mueller, director of SAfE (Sexual Assault Elimination) which provides several services aimed at prevention of sexual assault as well as intervention, counseling and follow-up services for victims says many of the steps sound simple, but are very difficult after such a traumatic experience.
"We're asking them to take steps that seem so simple," she said. "But they're traumatized, ashamed, they don't want others including their parents -- to know. They just want to pretend that it didn't happen."
Still, Mueller, a licensed counselor with a Ph.D. in counseling from AU, says victims of sexual assault should try and do the following:
** Remain calm and alert. Think through all your options.
"This is extremely difficult to do," said Mueller. "But they need to try and not get hysterical and logically think through what they need to do. Rape Counselors of East Alabama (334/741-0707) provides crisis management services that we don't offer and they are available to help victims figure out what should happen next."
** Get to a safe place -- your home, apartment, residence hall or the residence of a trusted friend.
** Get medical attention as soon as possible, even if you need time to decide about reporting the crime. Victims need to be examined for possible internal injuries and get treated for possible sexually transmitted diseases. Victims should take a change of clothes to the hospital since the clothes they were wearing at the time of the attack may be kept for evidence
"It's critical that a victim get to the hospital and get a rape kit performed within at least 72 hours," Mueller said. "Even if they haven't decided whether to report or press charges, she can still get the kit done and have the evidence available should she eventually decide to take criminal action."
** Consider reporting the attack to police or university officials. Mueller says that SAfE Harbor advocates are available to discuss with victims their reporting options. She added that SAfE Harbor has applied for a grant from the Department of Justice to place a victim's coordinator within the Auburn University Department of Public Safety to facilitate reporting and prosecution.
"Studies have shown that having that kind of facilitation within the police department can have a very positive effect on reporting rates. We feel good about our chances with the grant and hope to have our victim's advocate in place by Oct. 1."
** Seek counseling and emotional support from SAfE Harbor, a local rape crisis center or a local crisis hotline. Mueller says the evidence is clear that those who get help and counseling resolve their experiences faster with fewer lasting effects than those who get no help.
"Susan DiJulio is our primary therapist and, in all likelihood, she is the person a victim would see in our office should she request services," Mueller said. "We're limited to 10 sessions per victim, but, if further counseling is needed after those 10 sessions, then Susan can help facilitate her getting continued counseling in the community."
** Do not blame yourself for the attack.
"So many women want to believe that they've done something that brought on their attack, but that is never the case," Mueller said. "The victim has nothing to be ashamed of. No matter what she was doing, she did not deserve to be raped."
Unfortunately, Mueller said roughly only one in 10 rapes are reported to the police.
"If a woman doesn't report a sexual assault, then no one knows there's a rapist out there," she said. "Even if she eventually decides not to prosecute, she can report the attack so that the police at least know that there's someone out there and, perhaps, can use information that she's provided in conjunction with other information and evidence to find the perpetrator and, when someone does press charges, get a conviction.
"It's important that a victim remember that if a man did this to her, he's probably going to do this or has done this already to others. And he's going to continue until he's stopped."
In addition to providing counseling to victims of stranger assault, dating violence, domestic violence and other forms of sexual assault, SAfE Harbor also provides upon request trained peer volunteers to increase awareness of men's violence against women to both men and women. Gentlemen's Agreement and Female Focus use enhancement and empowerment to educate same-sex audiences on sexual assaults. Common Ground is led by both sexes and speaks to mixed groups, young men and women to share strategies for taking a stand on men's violence against women.
SAfE Harbor is a division of AU's Student Counseling Services and is located in the AU Medical Clinic, Wing 231. It is funded by a Violence Against Women Act grant awarded through the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs.
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Measures that should be taken by women to reduce their vulnerability to sexual assault. include:
** Minimizing the time spent walking on campus at night and, when absolutely necessary, walking in groups of two or more;
** Avoiding isolated or dimly lit areas; and
** Use of the campus shuttle service, which is available throughout the campus from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. After 2 a.m., public safety units are available to shuttle women on campus.
AU-safeharbor
CONTACT: Mueller, 334/844-5123; Rape Counselors of East Alabama, 334/741- 0707; emergency beeper, 334/745-8634.