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Sexual Assault Awareness Month raises questions concerning Texas State’s adequacy in sexual violence education

By Sam Dunn
s_d194@txstate.edu

SAN MARCOS, Texas – Some students at Texas State feel the University could do more to spread awareness about sexual assault in order to help students better understand the issue and seek resources available to them if needed.

April is National Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and although Texas State has several resources available to victims of sexual abuse, many students aren’t aware of them, and some feel that more education regarding the dangers of sexual assault and the damaging stigmas surrounding it, would go a long way in improving the situation.  

"I think [Texas State] does well in the first year, in University seminar, but that's kind of all [the education about sexual assault] we get," said Iliana Medrano, junior and applied sociology major at Texas State. “I think [Texas State] has good resources but they aren't known." 

Sexual assault is a widespread issue in the U.S., particularly on college campuses, and law enforcement has not proven to be a sufficient solution due to many victims choosing not to report their attackers.

According to a study done by the Department of Justice in 2014, Only 20% of female student victims, age 18-24, report sexual assaults to law enforcement.

"None of my friends reported it because they were either ashamed or unsure if it was a big enough deal," said Christina Castro, junior at Texas State. "There really is not enough education on the topic… there should be a program to… spread awareness on campus."

Christina Castro (Photo by Folee Hall)




















Education programs can help create a more open dialogue about sexual assault, which in turn helps cultivate a supportive and constructive culture for victims, and otherwise, on campus.

“People should feel comfortable talking about [sexual assault] and encouraging action to take place,” said Texas State junior Lorena Gonzalez. “I feel like if people were to talk about it more, they would go into action and help prevent it from happening.”


For now, students who are victims of sexual assault are able to receive free counseling from the Counseling Center and confidential medical care from the Student Health Center. Hays-Caldwell Women’s Center (HCWC) is another resource that victims can go to for legal advocacy and hospital accompaniment for a forensic sexual assault exam.  

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