This year Dr. Cathy McDaniels Wilson, director of counseling and health at the center for health and wellness, is introducing a program called STOP—a sexual assault peer hotline and support group program.
The STOP hotline is a service that students can call when they feel they have been a victim of some form of sexual violence, which can be anything from rape to domestic abuse. When a student calls the hotline, the STOP peer advocate will provide the victim with information, education, and support every step of the way, if they should want it.
The medical personnel at Capital University’s Center for Health and Wellness is known for providing many different services for students facing sexual assault, such as counseling and STD testing. However, a peer advocacy group for victims of sexual violence has never been on campus until now. As someone who has a lot of experience working with victims of sexually violent crimes, McDaniels Wilson said she is excited about this new program because of the help that it will provide to students.
“Peer advocacy is a very positive approach to providing help and assistance to students on campus,” said McDaniels Wilson. “We know for sure that when students have an opportunity to talk to someone that looks like them, someone that is the same age as they are, it’s a very positive experience.”
The peer advocates allow for the victim to feel more comfortable talking about their experience. Current peer advocate, senior Katherine Escobar, talked about the need for such a program and why it’s important to get involved.
“Sexual assault is still a very taboo topic in today’s society and because of that it is not talked about enough,” Escobar said. “Unfortunately, this means that people underestimate its frequency, especially here at a small school like Capital. There should be assistance no matter what, and I wanted to be a part of that assistance with STOP.”
We have all heard the statistics: 1 in 4 women and 1 in 8 men will experience some form of sexual violence in their lifetime. College campuses are not strangers to sexual violence. As more and more universities are becoming headlines in the news for how they deal with sexual assault, other colleges are forced to reevaluate what is being done on their campuses to combat this issue.
STOP advocates will not be just be limited to helping people via the hotline. The advocates will also be out on campus educating students about sexual violence and ways to prevent these acts from happening through workshops and other educational programs that will discuss consent, violence, and substance use.
McDaniels Wilson hopes that by providing education on sexual violence, STOP and its advocates can help prevent students from living through a sexual assault.
With the implementation of this new service, McDaniels Wilson thought that Capital was taking the essential steps to ensure the safety of its students.
“We want to make sure that we are meeting the needs of our students and making sure we are providing them with education and opportunities to have the support that’s needed,” said McDaniels Wilson.
“Please call, even if it’s just questions you have,” Escobar said. “We want to help in any way we can. Sexual assault is never okay but seeking help is. You are not weak, you are not weird, you’re not different. You’re a strong survivor.”
If you feel you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual violence, the hotline to contact STOP is 614-236-6801. While the hotline operates only from 7 p.m. to 2 a.m. because of a limited number of peer advocates, the center for health and wellness always has someone on call.
If interested in becoming a STOP peer advocate, you can go online to Capital’s Center for Health and Wellness’s website and apply to become a certified peer educator. After applying, a one-month long training must be completed before you can work on the hotline.
