Sexual violence occurs when someone is forced or coerced into unwanted sexual activity without agreeing or consenting. Reasons someone might not be able to consent include: Fear, being underage, having an illness or disability, and incapacitation due to alcohol or other drugs. Unfortunately, One in five women will be a victim of completed or attempted sexual assault while in college, and 40% of colleges and universities reported not investigating a single sexual assault in the previous five years. However, the students and officers of Bradley decided to be proactive, and used this month in order to educate the community of the impact of sexual violence.

Bradley Police officers show support by wearing teal on their badges supporting sexual assault awareness month.

The Bradley University Police Department co-sponsored various student organization’s events to increase awareness throughout the month of April. The presidents of the greek council members all met with officer Young, to set an agenda and discuss their goals for the entire month. These events were not your typical Sexual Assault Awareness events. Some of the events were Coffee with a Cop, a Concert in the Student Center Ballroom, and a Pledge Wall for those individuals that wanted to pledge against Sexual Assault. “I think it’s so important for college students because it’s such a prevalent topic on college campuses.” said Pan-hellenic Council President Jaclyn Clark, “This is an issue that is affecting us and our closest friends, so the more that is done on a college campus to raise awareness for those issues is so important because it truly hits close to home.” The main idea of these events as a whole were to spread awareness about sexual assault, however the involvement of the Bradley police targeted a more specific issue. The positive relationship that students on campus should be able to have with them, and trust that they will support the students.

The relationship students have with the police has always been one where the students feel threatened by law enforcement, especially reporting sexual assault. Students often see police officers as villains, trying to do whatever they can in their power to get as many students in trouble as possible. Due to this dilemma, one of the most serious problems regarding sexual assault is that victims do not feel comfortable reporting their assault due to various reasons, one of them being fear that police would not or could not help them. Reasons for this thought process stem from fear of being harmed for telling the truth, not thinking it was enough to report, or simply, not wanting to get the perpetrator in trouble. All of these link together with how college students have a difficult relationship with officers. Luckily, the officers of Bradley had a goal in mind to change that mindset, by co hosting events with Bradley Students during Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM).

“SAAM provides education, resources and an outlet for all students. For survivors, this is a chance to see that they are not alone in their quest for understanding and change.” Said Kathleen Prout, the assistant director of Bradley Fraternity and Sorority life. “For some students, they don’t even realize they have been assaulted right away. SAAM provides them with anonymous support as well as continued education on what it means to be assaulted, how it affects their lives and advocates for them to use when they feel the time is right.” Through the various on-campus events, guest speakers were able to come in and elaborate on all of the issues of sexual assault, whether trying to prevent sexual assault in the first place by reminding students of the rules of consent, or informing on how already assaulted victims should feel comfortable reaching out to someone to talk about something that can be so damaging to their lives.

Dave Jenson shows his support at Coffee with a Cop

“We need to show that we support the victims so they know that they are not alone and can come to the bradley police department at anytime without any hesitations.” said ACBU coordinator Sam Bondi. One of the more successful events, Coffee With a Cop, allowed students to simply chat with Bradley police officers in order to build their trust with the students. The officers wanted to show that they are truly their to help the students. They want to be able to work with students in order to ensure that they have a positive trust, and that students should always feel comfortable talking to Bradley police officers. 

Greek life houses show support for SAAM by tying teal ribbons on their doors

Additionally, in order to spread awareness even further. The police and students decided to tie ribbons on the greek life houses representing their support in the fight to end sexual assault. Along with that, they wrote down statistics and quotes of victims along the sidewalks of campus that were hard for students to miss. “I have seen fliers in bathrooms and signs around campus giving the statistics behind sexual assault. We are one big community and we are attempting to show our love for one another, thus resulting in a stronger community” said Bondi.

All of the events, programs, signage, and conversations allowed the Bradley community to learn more about the national college campus issue of sexual assault. Furthermore, the combination of using the BUPD to co sponsor the events allowed for them to engage with Bradley students in order to build trust among students that they are here to help anyone with anything, and that they truly meant it. Hopefully, through the events thrown, our community will become the strongest and closest that it has ever been.