Assault site astray

For victims of sexual assault or rape, finding information about help the campus offers is critical, but unfortunately too hard. The 5-RAPE stickers on bathroom stall doors advertise a hotline, but little else. It is not even clear who the phone number reaches. The poorly-publicized Web site run by the Sexual Assault Response Team, the same group which puts out the stickers, does not say. Links to this Web site cannot be found in predictable places, such as on the Web sites of the University Health Service or the University Counseling Center. Once at SART’s Web site, the screen shows only the same sticker found in bathrooms without indicating it is actually a link to further information. This inadequacy could led to disastrous consequences for a rape victim.Once inside the Web site the information is good, but incomplete. On UCC’s Web site is a comprehensive list of links to information on a variety of sexual assault-related subjects, such as date rape, male victims of assault, and legal concerns. On UHS’s Web site is information about emergency contraception, a topic that could be crucially important to female rape victims. The SART Web site encourages victims to visit the emergency room for both health and legal reasons, but then contains no information on issues such as transportation to and from local hospitals or women’s centers and services local hospitals offer. The information from these three Web sites, as well as information on services offered at local hospitals, should be brought together in one Web site for easy access. Furthermore, the Web site itself, which is not mentioned on the sticker, should be better publicized.The Internet offers an anonymous and a non-confrontational way for victims to learn about their rights and options before they decide what to do. For students accustomed to getting information from Web sites rather than hotlines, a comprehensive Web site for victims of sexual assault and rape would be an invaluable tool.