Women's Center seeks to prevent sexual assault

Sexual assault has been an increasingly significant problem on college campuses across the United States. Female students are victims of a vast majority of these assaults, many of which go unreported.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) web site reports that between 20 and 25 percent of women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape during their college career, with only 35 percent of these attacks being reported.

UConn is no exception to the nationwide problem of sexual assault. The Violence Against Women Prevention Program, also known as VAWPP and run by the Women's Center, specifically addresses the issue of sexual assault and rape. They look to raise awareness and create solutions to the problems women face on college campuses.

"[Sexual assault] is a pervasive issue, the statistics reveal that," said Venida Rodman Jenkins, VAWPP coordinator. VAWPP works toward shifting the public attitude away from "risk reduction" to "rape prevention."

Risk reduction strategies are those that promote protecting oneself, such as carrying pepper spray, a rape whistle, or using the iconic emergency blue lights on campus. While effective, these strategies only benefit a small number of sexual assault victims.

"In 90 percent of attacks, the victim knows their attacker," said Krissy Dolce, a 7th-semester English major and VAWPP project assistant. "In these cases, 'risk reducing' strategies will not help the victim."

According to Jenkins, cultural attitudes towards women must be changed in order to fight back against sexual assault.

"Risk reduction puts the responsibility on the victim," said Jenkins. "Only one person can prevent a rape, and that's the perpetrator."

Jenkins also teaches a class titled Rape Education and Awareness, which teaches students to become peer educators on the subject.

"We want the campus community to be aware of what sexual assault is," Jenkins said. The program facilitates workshops revolving around rape education and awareness around the campus, including FYE classes, residence halls, and sororities and fraternities.

The Women's Center and VAWPP provide numerous resources for victims of sexual assault, as well as for friends and families of victims. "It is important to present options to victims," said Jenkins. "The last thing we want to do is force them to do anything. They were already victims once."

Lauren Dilello, a 6th-semester nutritional science major, was the victim of one of the most recent attacks reported at UConn. According to Dilello, a male broke into her off campus apartment at approximately 3:15 a.m. on Sept. 5th and sexually assaulted her while she was asleep.

The UConn community was notified of the attack the next day via a text message alert, as well being posted on the UConn homepage.

Dilello was held at knife point in her bed while the assailant attempted to rape her.

Eventually, she was able to fight off her attacker, who immediately fled the scene.

"I saw a window of opportunity," said Dilello. "I said to myself, either you can let this happen, or you can fight back, so I fought back."

Once the attacker fled, Dilello immediately called police, who arrived at the scene within minutes.

"I want to speak out about this," said Dilello. "Hardly anything is ever said [about sexual assault]. Most cases aren't even reported. When this happens, you need to get help immediately."

Dilello was given access to numerous resources through the police and the university to help deal with the aftermath of the attack, many of which she has taken advantage of. Dilello is currently working with the Women's Center and hopes to continue to work with their program and promote self-defense.

"I want people, especially women, to be able to defend themselves," she said. "And I want people to know that I'm going to defend myself and I'm going to fight back."

In light of the attack, Dilello has become more conscious of who she is with and what information she dispenses. "I'm more aware of what I tell people now," she said. "[During conversation] I used to tell people where I lived. I don't do that anymore. You need to know who you are talking to."

Dilello recommends being aware of the information you are giving to people, as well as always going out in groups. "I surround myself now only with people I trust," she said.

The attack has brought many unforeseen circumstances for Dilello, but she continues to move forward and hopes to raise awareness about sexual assault through her own experience.

"This is not about me anymore," Diello said. "It's about helping other people."

For more information regarding sexual assault and additional resources available at UConn and within the community, students can visit the Women's Center website at www.womenscenter.uconn.edu.

Students interested in getting involved with any of the VAWPP initiatives on-campus, can visit the Women's Center located on the 4th floor of the Student Union.