All survivors of sexual and intimate partner violence should be empowered to make their own choices following an assault. This belief is something many sexual assault activists, like myself, emphasize: but to do so, survivors first need to know what their options are. So pull out your smartphones, because there’s an app for that.
The bMOREsafe app – an independently-funded project of the Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) unit at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center, not even 3 miles from our campus – helps guide survivors through medical, reporting and support options. The app’s goal is not to impose any one belief, and instead aims to give the survivor “back the power of choice,” according to the bMOREsafe website.
After asking users what they need with pre-determined prompts, including “What if I have been forced to have sex?”, “What if I don’t want to tell the police?” and “What if I just need someone to talk to?”, the app highlights relevant services in the city. And, since it was developed by a medical center, it also details what to expect during medical treatment, including how to prepare for a forensic examination and what to expect at Mercy Medical Center’s emergency waiting room.
“There’s different levels of support you might want. You might want to go get a medical exam, you might want to speak to a police officer and go through reporting that crime, or you might just want emotional support, like the hotline,” said Erin Pollitt, the lead project developer for bMOREsafe and the forensic nursing resource coordinator for the FNE unit. “We wanted to make sure that each stage of support that you might want was addressed, and that people could at least know what was available to them.”
Mercy Medical Center is the designated sexual assault and domestic violence center for Baltimore City, according to Erin. At the medical center, the forensic nurses are specialized in treating marginalized populations, including survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, elder abuse, neglect and maltreatment. The FNE unit can also provide confidential care and treatment, meaning that one can receive medical care without reporting the assault to the police.
While developing bMOREsafe, the folks at FNE took a hint from a similar smartphone app project in D.C., UASK (University Assault Services Knowledge), sponsored by the D.C.-based advocacy organization Men Can Stop Rape and the D.C. Mayor’s Office of Victim Services. An app seemed like a useful way to target high school and college students (those in the age demographic that Mercy Medical Center’s FNE nurses most frequently see for sexual assault treatment), according to Erin.
“We know, as a statistic, that rape spans all people, all ages, so it’s not meant to exclude people,” she explained. “But we did want to make it more user-friendly for the people that we see the most.”
Even President Barack Obama has acknowledged sexual assault on college campuses, creating the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault in 2014, and launching the website “Not Alone” to inform students and schools about their rights, responsibilities and local resources. A recent study by the Association of American Universities confirmed this trend, finding that more than one in four undergraduate women had been sexually assaulted, even higher than the oft-cited one-in-five statistic.
We saw the reach of these issues at Hopkins recently, when a student reported a possible sexual assault following an alleged drugging at the Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) house on Oct. 9, which is still under investigation. Earlier this year, reports about two men assaulting a 16-year-old at the now-terminated Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) house led administrators to temporarily ban all fraternity parties. And, after complaints concerning how the administration had dealt with sexual misconduct cases – last year, many students were upset to learn about allegations against the campus chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike), also currently closed, from an article in the Huffington Post – the University is under investigation by the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights.
Perhaps with these issues in mind, the University has expanded its consent education training.
Traditionally, most of the University’s sexual assault education has taken place during new student orientation, usually in the context of a one-time information session. This year, following a consent education presentation, Sexual Violence Prevention, Education and Response Coordinator Alyse Campbell, Title IX Coordinator Allison Boyle and a representative from the student-run advocacy group Sexual Assault Resource Unit (SARU) introduced on- and off-campus resources, and Boyle explained the University’s sexual misconduct policy. For the first year ever, all incoming freshmen are also required to go through an extensive program titled Bystander Intervention Training (BIT).
Given the current climate, keeping students connected to localized resources following an assault can be incredibly important. However, since recalling these resources days, weeks or even years after orientation can be challenging, an app like bMOREsafe is a convenient tool to have on hand.
The app has received support from on-campus sexual assault activists as well.
“What I really like about it is that it doesn’t prescribe any ‘right way’ for the survivor to go about seeking help. It just bases the resources on what they’re looking for and what their needs are,” said Ella Rogers-Fett, senior and SARU co-director. Ella learned about the app when she visited Mercy Medical Center, as part of training to hold SARU’s peer-to-peer crisis intervention and resource referral hotline.
“It’s really accessible,” Ella continued. “In a time of crisis, when someone may potentially be really overwhelmed by a lot of other things, it’s great to have something that is so straightforward.”
Learn more about bMOREsafe: bmoresafemercy.org
Like bMOREsafe on Facebook: facebook.com/MercyFNE
Follow bMOREsafe Twitter: twitter.com/BMORESAFEapp
Screenshots from Mercy Medical Center FNE’s bMOREsafe app. Aside from sexual assault, other prompts include “What if I have been hurt by my partner?”, “What if I don’t want to tell the police?”, “What if I just need someone to talk to?” and “What if I’m concerned about a friend?”. The app is available on the Google Play store for Androids and the App Store for iPhones, in both English and Spanish.