By Julianna Russ
April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Texas Tech University’s Risk Intervention & Safety Education organization stepped in to spread awareness.
Matthew Koehl, a peer educator for Risk Intervention & Safety Education, said he has been with RISE for about two years, and his job is to help organize events and have one-on-one meetings with students.
“April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month,” Koehl said, “and we have taken this project on in RISE as we are the prevention office on campus.
“Our goal is to raise awareness across all communities, to meet everybody where they’re at and to help everybody realize this is a conversation for everyone to be having.”
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, nearly two-thirds of college students experience sexual harassment.
Dane Rivas, a student marketing assistant for RISE, said he created a multitude of marketing materials for RISE events, such as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
“We want people to know that this is a place where they can come and talk to us and can get help whether it was 15 years ago or it happened yesterday,” Rivas said. “We can help them find counseling. We can help them find resources and a community where they don’t feel alone.”
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 20 to 25 percent of college women and 15 percent of college men are victims of forced sex during their time in college.
Koehl said RISE is a well-utilized resource on campus, and last year alone, the peer educators spoke with more than 20,000 students at Texas Tech.
“Sexual assault may not have affected you or even someone close to you,” Koehl said, “but you could be sitting in class with somebody, and statistically, you’ve probably sat in a class with somebody who has been affected.”
Rivas said RISE has been working on Sexual Assault Awareness Month since last semester.
“We have created so many different opportunities for student and faculty and staff to learn about how sexual assault has impacted this campus, what they can do to help survivors, or if they have been sexually assaulted, where they can go and how they can find help,” Rivas said.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault.
Rivas said there are different ways to contact RISE. It can be online, over the phone or in person.
“We don’t love when students come in here, but we love when they know they can come in here and talk about it.”
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 27 percent of college women have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact.
Rivas said there are several different outlets to go to, several ways to step in if it is happening, and several ways to educate against sexual assault.
“Sexual assault is not OK on our campus,” Rivas said, “and our events are to show that survivors are welcome, and survivors are heard.”
For more information, visit the RISE website.
The Crisis HelpLine is also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A licensed counselor through the CrisisHelpLine may be reached 742-5555.
For immediate help, do not hesitate to call 911.
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