<< Back to Issue 8 of Staff News


April Proclaimed Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention Month... continued

According to a 2003 study conducted by the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault and the University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work, nearly 2 million Texans have been sexually assaulted. That equals 1 in 5 women and 1 in 20 men in our state. Unfortunately, fewer than 20 percent of sexual assaults are ever reported to police.

College age women are 4 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault. (RAINN.ORG). According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, nearly 5% of college women are sexually assaulted during any given year. Additionally people ages 16-24 are raped and sexually assaulted at rates higher than any other age group.

Sexual violence is a form of oppression, and it is linked to all other forms of oppression. In order to create a world without sexual violence, it is imperative that each of us takes a stand against all forms of oppression – whether based on gender, age, race or ethnicity, sexual orientation or gender identity, ability or economic class. “In order to foster healthy and safe campus, all students must support the effort to end sexual violence every month of the year,” says Jessica Muniz, LMSW, Sexual Assault Program Coordinator for Counseling Services and the WRC. For more information on the Women's Resource Center or on Sexual Assault Awareness activities contact Jessica at 458-4140. For more information on how you can prevent sexual assault see our website at www.utsa.edu/wrc/wrc

Resources
The National Sexual Assault Hotline number is 1-800-656-HOPE.
www.utsa.edu/counsel/
www.utsa.edu/wrc/wrc/
www.rainn.org

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Melissa Hernandez, LCSW
Assistant Director, Counseling Services
Coordinator, Women’s Resource Center
210-458-4140