Six out of every 1,000 college students in the United States, are victims of sexual assault, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Molly R. Morris, a senior psychology major, wants to see that figure decline.
That desiret led her to start a new organization this semester called Revoking Silence, designed for students who have been victims of sexual assault or domestic violence.
“I feel as though UNM does not take the needed steps to help survivors and instead pushes them aside or ignores them, which is why I decided to join Revoking Silence,” she said.
The number of sexual assault cases on campus have ticked upward recently, said Rob Burford, the Clery Act compliance officer at UNM, increasing to 18 reports last year.
Along with this increase in sexual assault reports, the number of students concerned that UNM hasn’t taken the necessary steps to prevent incidents from happening has risen as well, said Revoking Silence mentor Molly C. Morris.
Revoking Silence is dedicated to empowering survivors to thrive and achieve excellence after their incidents. The organization provides self-care days, peer support, mentorship and resource assistance, Molly R. Morris said.
The organization is made up of young adults who are advocates, volunteers and survivors themselves. Molly R. Morris said it instills confidence in people who come to them to seek help and give them a family they can talk to and feel safe around.
Molly R. Morris started the organization because she said she was sexually assaulted herself while at another university through a national exchange program. Later, when she returned to UNM, she said she found strength in her experience by starting Revoking Silence and working with the Women’s Resource Center and the Dean of Students to help jump start her organization.
There are three aspects to the organization, Molly R. Morris said.
The first is the mentorship program where students who want to help can submit an application and then go through a two day training to get certified. They are then paired with survivors they can mentor. The mentors help survivors and give them counseling, escort them to classes and help them make appointments with therapists.
“I wanted to let survivors know that there is a place they can go and that there are people who will make time to help them in whatever they need,” Molly C. Morris said. “I think it can impact campus by bringing to light not just the amount of assault on campus, but how they are so often mishandled.”
The second aspect of Revoking Silence are survivors taking self-care days, which consist of self-defense classes, archery classes, wilderness survival classes and more.
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“They are activities that are empowering and help survivors get out and about so they don’t get stuck in depression and anxiety,” Molly R. Morris said.
The third aspect is community connections, which is networking with other off-campus organizations, such as Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners and Haven House, two organizations that can help survivors.
Molly R. Morris said she is working with the Dean of Students office to get campus climate boxes; small lock boxes in restrooms and advisors’ offices where students can file anonymous reports if they are sexually assaulted or witness an incident on campus. They would be able to leave their contact information and name, and members of Revoking Silence would contact them within 24 hours.
“I want to be able to establish Revoking Silence on this campus and take it to other universities in the United States,” she said. “I plan on checking in on the schools and mentors every couple months.”
She said students might be tentative to use a resource like climate boxes at first if they are uncomfortable, but that they would be beneficial in the long run.
“(Universities) don’t want to be labeled a rape school, but if they are getting more reports at a higher rate for assault, that means they are doing something right. They have an effective system,” Molly R. Morris said. “If they don’t bite the bullet now, it will be a lot worse down the road.”
Molly R. Morris said she wants to communicate with other institutions and explain to them that this could be an effective system that leads to change, eventually preventing assault at any university.
“Our main mission is to empower survivors to take back their courage and dignity and to thrive while surviving,” she said.
Jazzmin Zama is a student in the Communications and Journalist Department.
