GROUP 4 ARTHUR CASTRO ALLISON DE LA ROSA COURTNEY MCELHANEY JEAN SUH Creating an Evidence-Based Program for Sexual Assault

Brazos Valley Health Assessment 80 % of Brazos Valley residents were unable to locate Domestic Violence Services when they needed them.

What is Domestic Violence? Domestic Violence is also called “intimate partner abuse,” and refers to  physical and sexual,  psychological and economic abuse that takes place in the context of an intimate relationship, including marriage.

Sexual Assault Any sexual contact that you do not want is sexual assault. Sexual assault is any forced or coerced sexual intercourse or contact. It is a crime of violence in which assailants, whether known to the victim or not, are motivated by a desire to humiliate and have power over the victim. Texas Association Against Sexual Assault

Sexual Assault It is easy for an individual to believe that sexual assault happens to other people, or, if it happens to them, that they must have done something to cause it. Sexual assault usually occurs by deliberate action on the part of the perpetrator. Individuals need to be aware of the contributing factors that are in their personal control such as alcohol and drug use, and unclear communications.

Sexual Assault CLERY ANNUAL CRIME STATISTICS On Campus **Dorms/ Residential Facilities Forcible Sex Offenses **Crimes reported in the Dorms/Residential Facilities column are included in the On-Campus category. Dorms/Residential Facilities column is a subset of the On- Campus category.

Target Population Our objective is to increase the utilization of services offered by the Rape Crisis Center, Brazos Valley Female undergraduate students of Texas A&M University

Community Partners

Rape Crisis Center Services 24-Hour Hotline 24-Hour Hospital Accompaniment Free Individual and Group Counseling Educational Presentations and Trainings for All Age Groups Accompaniment Services to Law Enforcement

Activities Require all TAMU Organization Leaders to participate in a RCC presentation Train Residence Life staff in crisis intervention techniques Start a student organization Media Campaign  “Watch Your Drink” campaign

“Watch Your Drink” Collaboration between Crime Victims Action Alliance and Women’s Resource Center at California State University Placement of stickers, napkins and coasters in dorms and bars  Contain information about date-rape drugs and local rape crisis centers  Focus on both prevention and post-crime resources Pilot program was successful and has expanded to other cities

Evaluation Lack of evidence-based programs Existence of initiatives, pilot programs, congressional acts to indirectly increase utilization by promoting awareness “Watch Your Drink” Campaign “...Research and funding still lag behind the needs. We have a pretty good idea what works, but we need documentation by researchers to back it up.”  Pamela Prah, Do Teenagers Need More Protection? “…. judges are always asking for statistics on successful programs and techniques. ‘We're still in the infancy of domestic-violence research.’”  United States Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women, Family Violence Project

Proposed Solutions Develop a way to evaluate the proposed program to make it evidence-based Begin monitoring numbers of students using Rape Crisis Center services

Sample Questionnaire Are you a current Texas A&M University student ? (please mark one) Yes, undergraduate Yes, graduate student No How did you hear about the Rape Crisis Center? (mark all that apply) a friend another student website phonebook newspaper campus health fair “Watch Your Drink” campaign bar/coffee shop resident advisor on-campus organization other(specify)___________________

Challenges/Impact on Environment Is the Rape Crisis Center ready for an increase in utilization?  Contingency plans for staffing 24 hours a day  On-campus organization will increase volunteer force How will students get recruited to join a student organization?  Begin with current student volunteers at RCC  Recruit from groups RCC has presented to

Sustainability Utilize volunteer force  RCC requires six-month commitment  New students will bring new resources Use financial resources already available  RCC already receives grants  Evaluate ‘Watch Your Drink’ campaign for more funding

For more information: Sexual Assault Resource Center (formerly Rape Crisis Center, Brazos Valley)