By Louisa Davis Sills
So, after freshman year, what more do you know about sexual assault either on campus or off? Why should you care? Are discussions around topics that include "sex" cloaked in silence? Are they just taboo or is it that we are just apathetic? So, whose problem is it anyway?
If you have the opportunity to attend any of the offerings during Sexual Assault Awareness week, the first ever on the University of Portland campus, you may just arrive at some answers.
For me, I see the need for awareness as everyone's need. Sexual assault is everyone's problem and everyone's issue.
Too often, and perhaps as a result of the darker side of human nature, we are so quick to judge and to place blame.
Finger-pointing not only sidetracks the issue, but silences the survivors.
Sexual assault is not just a survivor's issue. It is everyone's issue.
Perhaps more egregious than sexual assault is our culture of "not my issue, not my fault" that promulgates this cycle of violence and silence.
For me, I've chosen to volunteer as a Stop Assault for Everyone (SAFE) advocate.
A SAFE advocate is trained in providing information related to emotional, medical and legal concerns, including information related to counseling services, medical resources and reporting options.
For more information, see www.up.edu/safe/default.aspx?cid=9211&pid=4205.
So what does this all mean to you? Well, it starts with you. What can or will you do to ensure the sounds of silence are not stalking our campus?
Louisa Davis Sills is a nursing professor
