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W.Va. colleges, rape crisis centers promote sexual assault awareness

INSTITUTE, W.Va. — In West Virginia, one in five woman and one in 16 men will be a victim of sexual assault while in college, according to a mental health specialist at West Virginia State University.

“The statistics are quite scary,” Robin Tabor told MetroNews during an event held at the college Tuesday to promote awareness of sexual assault.

According to the Rape Education, Advocacy, Counseling and Healing (REACH) Rape Crisis program in Charleston, approximately 80 percent of victims know their attackers and about 75 percent of sexual assaults involve the use of alcohol and/or drugs.

But in West Virginia, statistics show only about 17 percent of the assaults are reported to law enforcement.

“So many people are just afraid to come out and report because of embarrassment or shame and it’s a very difficult thing to heal from,” Tabor said.

For that reason, Tabor said they were inside the University Union to provide resources to students during Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

“We want them to know that we can help them. They can get through this,” she said. “We really don’t want them to not be able to complete their college career because of an incident that occurs.”

If a student is seeking help, Tabor said he or she can visit the counseling center on campus or can speak with someone from the REACH program if they choose not to disclose information with WVSU counselors.

Organizers were also in the union to ask students to take the pledge to stop sexual assault.

To take the pledge, visit the It’s On Us website.

Tabor encouraged participants to take selfies and post them to the 2016 SAAM (Sexual Assault Awareness Month) WV Day of Action Facebook page or on Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr by using the hashtags #ItsOnUs and #ItsOnUSWV.

WVSU was one of 17 colleges and nine rape crisis center in West Virginia who joined together Tuesday to promote sexual assault awareness.

The “It’s On Us” campaign is a national initiative that seeks to engage college students and members of campus communities to make a personal commitment to take a stand and be a part of the solution to campus sexual assault.





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