By: Cathy Akens//Dean of Students
From the Dean of Students
The Dean of Students Office, in the Division of Student Affairs, creates a culture of care for students, their families, faculty and staff by providing proactive education consultation, resources, and response to distressed students or students in crisis. The Dean of Students will provide a monthly column in the Beacon, to acquaint students with some of the important campus resources in place to support their success.
It’s On Us. Each and Every One of Us.
College can be the best of times, but for too many it can be the worst of times. According to a recent Association of American Universities (AAU) Campus Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct 2015, just over 23 percent of female undergraduate respondents reported being sexually assaulted since they started college. That is about 1 out of every 5 undergraduate women. These numbers should make us all very uncomfortable.
To address the alarming numbers of students impacted by sexual assault, FIU joined the ongoing educational campaign launched by the White House last year to raise awareness on campus. You have probably seen the banners, signs and t-shirts around campus reminding everyone that IT’S ON US to stop sexual assault. The message of the campaign speaks for itself.
Each and every one of us are responsible to watch out for our friends, to step in and intervene in a situation when a sexual assault may occur, and get our friends help if they have been sexually assaulted.
The difficulty we face with responding to incidents of sexual assault and sexual misconduct is that so many incidents are never reported. Perpetrators frequently use physical force, the threat of force or shame, or incapacitation with alcohol and other drugs to sexually assault their victims.
According to the AAU Campus Survey, most students who have been sexually assaulted are “embarrassed, ashamed or that it would be too emotionally difficult,” and because they “did not think anything would be done about it.” Perpetrators rely on our collective silence not to speak out, not to report and not to intervene. IT’S ON US to end this silence and this inaction.
The IT’S ON US campaign also seeks to expand common misunderstandings about sexual assault. For example, most victims of sexual assault know their attacker. And although the majority of sexual assault victims are women, men may also be victims of sexual assault.
FIU has many departments that support students who have been sexually assaulted, which include the Dean of Students, Student Conduct and Conflict Resolution, University Police Department and Equal Opportunity Programs and Diversity/Title IX Coordinator.
However, the only resource available that can offer confidential assistance is our Victim Empowerment Program through our Counseling and Psychological Services office. FIU Victim Advocate Counselors are trained to assist with crisis intervention and trauma recovery. They assist clients by providing information and options for action available to them if and when they are ready. They help students with safety planning and problems that may arise as a result of the crime.
For example, some students may need help requesting extra time for an assignment; or may need help with emergency relocation for safety. Some students may need a restraining order or desire accompaniment to the Rape Treatment Center. A police report is not required to receive services from the Victim Empowerment Program. Anyone can access the 24-Hour Crisis Line at (305) 348-3000.
If you are interested in reading the full report, you may access the AAU Campus Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct (2015) at http://www.aau.edu/Climate-Survey.aspx?id=16525. For more information on the IT’S ON US campaign and list of recourses, visit http://itsonus.fiu.edu.
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