UTRGV officials discuss resources for sexual assault victims
Sol Garcia | THE RIDER
Sexual Assault Awareness Month, observed every April, helps people understand that sexual assault can happen to anyone and is a prevalent issue.
Lucas Espinoza, a criminal justice assistant professor whose expertise includes violence-related research, said he believes discussing sexual assault is necessary.
“We need to raise the awareness in terms of the issue of how [the] university should deal with it and how the community is dealing with it,” Espinoza said.
Some common stigmas about sexual assault include that people think it is rare or only occurs to women, he said.
However, those ideas are not true.
“[Sexual assault] doesn’t discriminate,” Espinoza said. “Anyone can experience a situation of that nature.”
When discussing sexual assault with his students, Espinoza tells them, “You may know someone, or you actually may have experienced a situation of that nature.”
Thirteen percent of all college students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
In the past year, there has not been as many sexual assault cases reported as in previous years to UTRGV Student Rights and Responsibilities, but there is a concern that occurrences are going unreported, said Douglas Stoves, a UTRGV deputy Title IX coordinator and associate dean for Student Rights and Responsibilities.
“If there are issues that are happening in homes and domestic violence and things of that sort, it [does] make sense that when … you increase the opportunity, and there’s a lack of options, then, you’re definitely going to see the increase,” Stoves said.
Priscilla Palacios, associate director of Special Programs for the Office of Victim Advocacy and Violence Prevention at UTRGV, said the office did not see as many sexual assault cases reported during the pandemic as it would have if students were in face-to-face instruction.
“We did not see as many cases as we would have seen had we been on campus,” Palacios said.
She said she is sure sexual assault incidents are still occurring, but victims may struggle to report them and seek help.
“People were afraid to go anywhere because of COVID,” Palacios said. “It was a little too hard to access some services because everybody was pretty much shut down. Were they happening? I’m more than sure they were, but it was difficult for them to try to seek help or reach out for services because of what was going on at the moment.”
For those who are experiencing sexual assault or know someone who is, UTRGV will support them if they report it, Stoves said.
“It’s important to know that the university is supportive of individuals who want to come forward and who want to disclose, as well as acting as an active bystander,” he said.
Stoves said the reporting process is in the victim’s control.
“When something gets reported, the student has the ability to control that process. They have some decisions to make, and they have time to make those decisions,” he said.
Stoves said victims may believe a report will be ignored, but that is not the case.
“We’re not just going to get a report and ignore it,” he said. “We’re going to be taking an active role in making sure that the student can see [the] assistance that they need.”
Some UTRGV resources for sexual assault victims include OVAVP, the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity, the Counseling Center and University Police.
OVAVP is a confidential source, meaning the department will not report anything back to the university without the person’s permission, unless there are reports of child abuse.
“We’re here to provide them the information, the resources, talk to them about what their options are, who they can go with, who they can talk to,” Palacios said. “If they just want somebody to support them and just talk … without having to worry about anybody else finding out, we’re here for that.”
For local agencies, she recommends Mujeres Unidas for victims from Hidalgo County. Victims from Cameron County can reach out to the Family Crisis Center and Friendship of Women.
The Texas Association Against Sexual Assault can also help sexual assault victims. National resources include the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network and the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
“There’s resources for them to get assistance, to talk to somebody,” Palacios said. “They don’t have to go through this alone.”
To report sexual assault occurring to someone else, bystanders can submit a report to Vaqueros Report It or the Office of Institutional Equity and Diversity.
“It’s very important to report that so, that way, an appropriate intervention or contact can be made,” Stoves said. “Students can even call our office to ask about the processes.”
To observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month, OVAVP and UTRGV Police Department Victim Service will host Nicole Ramirez, an assistant criminal district attorney for Hidalgo County, to virtually discuss prosecuting sexual assault crimes on the podcast “Water Cooler Conversations” from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Wednesday via Zoom. To register, click here.
OVAVP will host a virtual table fair with UTRGV departments and outside agencies to inform the community of sexual assault resources at 1 p.m. April 29 via Zoom. To register, click here.
