By Emily Amparan
Assistant News Editor
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, a time that draws attention to important issues that are often swept under the rug. This month, the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s goal is to inform the public about sexual violence that happens on the CSU Bakersfield campus and nationwide.
Bystanders and survivors are vital for spreading awareness.
According to CSUB’s campus advocate and education coordinator Vanessa Corona, everyone directly or indirectly involved in incidents plays a role in increasing awareness.
Teaching the public what sexual misconduct is and opening up conversations are merely the start of a journey to addressing this taboo issue.
“We can do plenty of things on campus to make life comfortable, because that is our number one priority: to keep the campus safe,” said Corona.
There are solutions available not only for CSUB students, but also for any staff or faculty members who may be feeling any sort of discomfort, even if it hasn’t reached a criminal level.
There are measures the university can take to support these individuals, including moving schedules around, issuing a no-contact order or implementing other means ensuring as little contact as possible with individuals threatening their sense of safety.
Resources are not limited to survivors of sexual assault.
Corona and others in her field are there to provide support to anyone who wants to report an assault or escape an abusive partner.
Support can also be found at the University Police Department, Bakersfield Police Department (if the event took place off campus), the Counseling Center and the Title IX department.
Off campus, support is available through the Alliance Against Violence and Sexual Assault. The organization has a hotline for anyone to report incidents or confidentially discuss anything. Hotline operators will support a person’s decision not to report an incident if they are not ready. Survivors can also choose to report incidents any time after they occur.
“We want to put control back into their hands,” said Corona.
Supporters like Corona and Claudia Catota from Title IX are there to stand by whatever decisions are made by survivors. They wish to convey that options are available, and that survivors are not alone.
