Carrie Benson remembers a day, semesters ago, when a student stopped into the Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Office at the University of Pittsburgh to ask about certain signs in the bathrooms.
The signs, posted on bathroom stalls, outlined resources available to sexual assault survivors.
The student asked who put them up. Benson, director of the office, said her office was responsible for creating and posting them.
“The student said, ‘I saw these signs in the bathroom stall, and I reached out to the University Counseling Center. I’ve been doing trauma counseling ever since,’ ” Benson recalled.
It’s just one of the lessons that guides her work at Pitt: Outreach is essential.
The university will continue to expand its sexual violence prevention and education initiatives, thanks to funding of nearly $45,000 announced last week from the state’s It’s On Us PA campaign, an effort that aims to combat sexual violence.
Approximately 13% of all college students experience rape or sexual assault, according to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
Benson said Pitt will use its $43,725 to continue its informational signage campaign, which educates people on consent, safety, healthy relationships and resources for sexual assault survivors. Some of that will include messaging on coffee-cup sleeves at Pitt cafes.
“That allows us to reach a lot of people,” Benson said. “Anyone visiting a cafe on campus is getting positive messaging about healthy relationships, consent and reporting misconduct.”
The university also plans to host self-defense classes and continue weekly visits with a victim advocate from Pittsburgh Action Against Rape.
A new initiative from Pitt, Benson said, is running focus groups with men to better engage them in prevention work. Prevention work consists of building people’s awareness of topics like consent, healthy relationships and sexual misconduct policies, dialogue around relationships, and support for survivors.
“We need to bring more men into this space and we recognize there’s a stigma around male survivorship that we would like to reduce,” Benson said.
Pitt is one of six Allegheny County colleges to receive funding. Carnegie Mellon was awarded $50,000; Chatham, La Roche and Duquesne received $40,000 each; and the Community College of Allegheny County was awarded $21,795. In Westmoreland County, Seton Hill received $37,975.
Sarah White, La Roche’s dean of students and Title IX coordinator, said the money will be used to shift from one-size-fits-all training to trauma-informed, student-driven prevention that addresses people’s needs.
“By training student peer educators, equipping faculty and staff with trauma-informed resources, and strengthening crisis center partnerships, we’re creating multiple accessible pathways for students to get help when and how they need it,” White said.
When students arrive at college, their education on sexual misconduct and terms vary, said Chris Purcell, Chatham’s dean of students and vice president of student affairs. Chatham will use some of its funding to expand orientation programming and lessons for incoming students on sexual and alcohol education.
“We want to make sure that we have a lot of early messages before they arrive and when they get here, that they’re educated on what consent means and how they can get help,” Purcell said.
Chatham will also continue its partnership with the Women’s Center & Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh for domestic and dating violence support, as well as grow its bystander intervention program, Purcell said.
“It’s providing educational support and making sure we’re empowering folks to be themselves, and supporting their friends or peers,” Purcell said.
CCAC plans to expand community partnerships and training, increase resources for students experiencing dating and domestic violence, start a peer educator program and enhance employee and security training when someone discloses they are a victim of sexual misconduct, said Ketwana Schoos, the college’s vice president for institutional compliance.
“These coordinated efforts are designed to address both immediate safety needs and long-term prevention, while ensuring that students who disclose harm are met with consistent, compassionate and trauma-informed responses,” Schoos said.
