Helpful Sexual Assault And Violence Resources At USC
Columbia, SC (WOLO)– Sexual assault awareness has been a hot topic across the country. From the #MeToo movement to the Larry Nassar case, thousands of victims are speaking out. One of the central locations for this conversation have been college campuses. Student Health Services at USC said their main message to survivors of sexual assault is that they are not alone and there are a ton of resources available to them that can help.
“Again, we’re confidential. We’re really here to support and listen, and then empower people to make whatever choice works best for them,” Shannon Nix said, associate director of . According to RAINN, a national group that deals with sexual assaults, statistics show 1 in 5 college women are sexually assaulted, and men in college are 5 times more likely to be assaulted.
“But it’s something we’ve seen an increase in just cases coming in. Doesn’t mean it’s happening more, just like sexual assault, reports may increase, again it’s doesn’t mean it’s happening more. It’s because more people are coming forward. Which is what we want, for people to come forward and report. Because then they receive services and they’re more likely to stay in school and do well,”Nix said. Nix with USC says they are 100% confidential, and will help survivors pick a path that is right for them. Whether it involves Law Enforcement or the University. Nix says they recently hired two new sexual assault program coordinators who have already reached more than 9-thousand students, increasing the amount of programing they are able to do.
“People can get triggered by a lot of different things, people who go through traumatic events. So we think about scary things being triggers, or loud noises, which can be for some people. But what I tell people are triggers are really innocuous things in the environment that get paired with a traumatic event. It can be a song, or a scent, or a red baseball cap or a red backpack,” Nix said. She also said other signs of possible sexual assault can look like a change in behavior, isolating themselves, and decrease in productivity at school or work.
From USC Sexual Assault and Violence Website:
For information on how to support survivors, additional on and off-campus resources, or to report an act of interpersonal violence, please click here.
