October marked National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and the Violence Prevention Program (VPP) on campus played an important role.
According to Adriana Ortiz, one of the three program officers, “The VPP is a peer education group that seeks to educate students about sexual assault, bystander intervention, and dating violence.”
The Violence Prevention Program hopes to create a change in the culture regarding sexual violence by reducing the number of cases on campus. This program has many goals in order to accomplish this, according to Ortiz.
“Our goal is to educate the community about resources available on and off campus, how to help a friend, as well as how to be an effective bystander.”
A few possible resources made available on campus are Campus Safety, the Cowell Center, the Office of Student Life, and the Wellness Center, out of which the VPP is based.
“This program is super important because sexual assault on college campuses is an issue that usually gets swept under the rug,” said Ortiz. “A lot of survivors don’t realize that there are resources out there to help them, and there are supportive people ready to listen.”
These on-campus outlets, as well as many off-campus resources, including YWCA, the Santa Clara Police Department, and the Santa Clara Valley Medical Center, are available for students to use and to prevent the continued growth of sexual and relationship assault.
This year, the VPP worked with the university to produce the “Can’t Thread a Moving Needle” program, initiated by sophomore Jack Herstam. In this mandatory program for first year students, viewers watched a captivating video documenting interviews with multiple survivors, perpetrators, family, friends, attorneys, and more.
Ortiz believes this is a positive step. “I think making the film a requirement for first years to watch is definitely a step in the right direction, but we shouldn’t stop there. We did receive some positive reviews from students who appreciated us shining a light on this important topic.”
Despite the efforts of the VPP, Ortiz believes some students still did not seem to get the message or it’s importance. Overall, however, she believes the Violence Prevention Program has benefited students by providing resources and support to survivors and by raising awareness of dating and domestic violence.
According to the US Department of Justice, one in every four to five college-aged women are victims of rape or attempted rape. The VPP works to create awareness about this alarming statistic by promoting awareness and acting as a resource for survivors or friends of survivors of sexual assault.
To get involved with this peer education group and help spread awareness, there is an application on the Wellness Center website.
“The deadline has currently passed for this quarter, but we will open them up next quarter,” said Ortiz. “If someone really wants to get involved this quarter, I encourage them to email us!” You can also visit their Facebook page or at the Wellness Center (housed across the street from Dunne).