Editorial: Sexual assault resources need more visibility

The original version of this article contained an error and has been changed. See the bottom of the article for additional information.

President Barack Obama recently signed the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act, which will ensure that colleges more seriously address sexual assault.

It will require colleges to take measures, such as including additional numbers in campus crime reports, meeting certain standards for disciplinary proceedings on sexual violence cases, and hosting educational programs.

By drawing attention to the importance of educational resources, we feel this legislation gives us an opportunity to evaluate existing programs on our campus that provide support to victims of sexual assault.

UCLA is already equipped with many well-organized and nationally recognized resources for assault victims.

But this board believes the effectiveness of these resources could be increased if students in the undergraduate student government played a more visible role connecting administrative programs to students.

UCLA’s Campus Assault Resources and Education program, run through UCLA Counseling and Psychological Services, provides trauma support services and advocacy on behalf of victims.

These services include a 24-hour crisis line, group therapy and a “student care manager/advocate” to help students navigate administrative or academic processes, according to the program’s website.

While we commend UCLA for prioritizing effective assault prevention and response programs, students should be more informed about them.

Although new students learn about the Campus Assault Resources and Education center during their orientation’s sexual assault workshop, many others are still unfamiliar with all that UCLA has to offer.

One way for the program to gain visibility is an expansion of the efforts of the Speak Out and Support Coalition, a student-run group that the Undergraduate Students Association Council helped to develop. The coalition is an extension of the Campus Assault Resources and Education center.

We believe the Speak Out and Support Coalition could be especially effective at educating students because of its focus on peer-to-peer outreach while also collaborating with professional specialists.

Currently, Speak Out and Support collaborates with other campus organizations such as the Office of Residential Life and USAC to facilitate educational workshops.

Increasing the frequency and reach of these workshops would educate students about on-campus resources, and help prevent sexual assaults.

The presence of administrative programs on campus may have the resources to address sexual assault, but the student body needs to be more engaged in creating a campus environment that values them.

Unsigned editorials represent the majority opinion of the editorial board.

Correction: The Speak Out and Support Coalition is a student-run group that the Undergraduate Students Association Council helped to develop. The coalition is an extension of the Campus Assault Resources and Education center.