One click aids rape victims

College-age women are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than women of other age groups, according to statistics released by the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.

To help fight sexual assault on campus and in the Bloomington community, IU Student Association’s Department of Women’s Affairs is encouraging students to donate to the Rape Crisis Fund during registration for fall classes.

The $3 donation will be billed to a student’s bursar account, and the proceeds will be split between Middle Way House in Bloomington and the IU Health Center’s Sexual Assault Crisis Services.

Middle Way House’s Rape Crisis Center provides 24-hour support to victims of sexual assault, as well as other advocacy programs and training for professionals who aid victims.

Sexual Assault Crisis Services is available to students through the IU Health Center and provides support services to victims.

Director of the IUSA Department of Women’s Affairs and sophomore Mikaela Shaw said the Rape Crisis Fund has at times accrued as much as $71,000 in donations. However, the fund has seen a decline in recent years, Shaw said.

Toby Strout, executive director of Middle Way House, said the partnership between IUSA and Middle Way House began in 1988 when the organizations circulated a petition requesting that the Rape Crisis Fund be an optional donation during registration.

Strout said Middle Way House received as much as $26,000 in donations during peak years. However, in 2007 IUSA decided to cut Middle Way House’s allocation to 25 percent of donations, Strout said.

Strout said she believes there has been an overall decline in donations to the Rape Crisis Fund.

“I don’t think anybody took ownership for it on campus,” Strout said.

The Department of Women’s Affairs hopes to reverse this trend. In addition to a larger advertising campaign, a new feature on the bursar add-on site now allows students to see a description of the Rape Crisis Fund before donating.

Shaw said she thinks this feature is important because some students do not understand the prevalence of sexual assault on campus.

“It’s something that people don’t want to talk about because it is a touchy subject,” Shaw said.

In fact, the likelihood that individuals will experience a sexual assault increases as soon as they set foot on campus, Shaw said.

“If it’s not them, it’s going to be a friend or classmate or someone that they know,” Shaw said.

Junior Sarah Robinson, also a director of IUSA’s Department of Women’s Affairs, said IUSA is trying to bring the Rape Crisis Fund back to the front of student’s minds.

Robinson said campus bus advertisements will run closer to registration to remind students to donate to the fund.

A Facebook group to stop rape on campus is open to students interested in learning about the fund.

Robinson said she hopes these measures will help students understand the relevance of donating to the Rape Crisis Fund.

“It’s a very easy way for students to take a stand on this issue,” Robinson said.