The Observer, February 24, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 18
Task Force tackles sensitive sexual issues
College campuses are hotbeds of sexual activity. People having sex, people wanting sex, people thinking about sex – it's all happening. But how much do you really know about sex? Specifically, about sexual assault? Probably not as much as you should, which is why the Flora Stone Mather Center for Women and the Sexual Assault Task Force are on the move to make sure that Case students have all of the information they need when it comes to sex.
The Sexual Assault Task Force is comprised of a student group and a faculty group and includes both men and women dedicated to informing students and parents about sexual assault, risk reduction, and campus resources. So now you know who to blame for those sexual assault posters in residence hall bathrooms. You might like your bathroom stall walls bare and serene, but the fact is, 1 in 4 collegiate women have or will experience sexual assault over the course of their undergraduate years, and the statistics for sexual assaults against males are not far behind.
The vast majority of assaults on campus have or will occur between acquaintances, not strangers, and involve the biggest risk factor for assault: alcohol. Not what you read on a poster your freshman year? That's because the older sexual assault posters contained outdated information – one of the reasons the Sexual Assault Task Force was created was to provide accurate, up-to-date information on sexual assault in many forms of media, from poster, to informational letters to brochures.
According to Kathryn Martires, a student member of the Task Force, "Addressing sexual assault on a large scale is especially important at the college level since this is a time during which a disproportionate amount of sexual assaults occur." To that end, the Task Force also gives presentations to many student groups encouraging dialogue about sexual assault and, according to Dana Blocker, the Assistant Director for the Center for Women, "empowering those who have already been disempowered by sexual assault."
Their tactics are working. According to Blocker, who, along with Student Health Services and University Counseling Services, is a confidential resource for reporting sexual assault, after releasing more information about assault on campus, the number of people seeking help for assault has increased.
While the Task Force can be thanked for this increased awareness, its work is far from done. The only truly way to spread knowledge about the facts of sexual assault is to help. All men and women are encouraged to join the Sexual Assault Task Force; the next meeting will be Thursday, March 23 during Provost Hour in the Center for Women Conference room, Thwing 303. To report an assault or to get more information on the Sexual Assault Task Force, contact Dana Blocker at the Center for Women (dana.blocker@
