Somewhere, at this very moment, a woman is being abused. Berated and assaulted, she is left bruised and broken — physically and emotionally scarred. She could be your neighbor, co-worker, student or family member, but you may never know of her abuse until it is too late.
According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, 85 percent of all violence victims are women. One in every four women will somehow be affected by domestic violence in her lifetime, but only about one-quarter of all physical assaults, one-fifth of all rapes and one-half of all stalking incidents against women are reported.
April is Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention month in the United States.
In an attempt to change those statistics, the Centre County Women’s Resource Center works throughout the year to aid those affected by domestic and sexual violence.
The Women’s Resource Center runs a multitude of programs including a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency shelter, counseling and support groups, legal and medical advocacy program, transitional housing program and other agency referrals. The organization also offers educational programs to abuse survivors, area service providers and the general public. All services offered by the center are free, confidential and professional.
“Our mission here is really twofold. Of course it is to provide services for any victim, but it’s also to do primary prevention,” said Jody Althouse, CCWRC director of outreach and communications.
According to Althouse, primary prevention is an important CCWRC program where members of her outreach team spread the message and vision of the center, prevention of abuse, through programs at local schools, church organizations, fairs and other local events. Programs include topics such as sexual assault, domestic violence, teen dating violence, sexting, child sexual abuse and mandated reporting.
By presenting the public with information on these issues, Althouse hopes the general outlook on domestic and sexual abuse will change.
“Our other goal is to change the social norm, change the culture that promotes rape, that accepts it, almost rewards it to an extent that the victim is blamed,” she said.
Althouse said oftentimes when people read about a sexual assault in the newspaper, they question what the victim was wearing, how much alcohol she consumed during the night or why she was out alone.
“Those questions should never be asked. The question that should be asked ‘Why did he do that?’ or ‘Why didn’t his friends stop him?’ Put the blame where it belongs, on the perpetrator, not on the victim,” she said. “That’s a huge part of our mission, to try to change that culture, to get people to realize that no woman, no girl, no grandmother, no aunt, no sister ever deserves to be raped regardless of where they are, what they are wearing or what they are doing.”
To help aid victims of rape and sexual assault, CCWRC is also part of the Sexual Abuse Response Team (SART), a partnership between the State College Police Department, Mount Nittany Medical Center and CCWRC. Members of each organization are specifically trained to handle rape and sexual abuse incidents.
Upon a man or woman’s arrival at Mount Nittany Medical Center for a rape exam, an advocate from CCWRC is called to the hospital. The advocate reports to the victim’s room within 30 minutes.
Michele Hamilton, assistant director of shelter services, serves as one of the CCWRC SART advocates.
“The victim can expect that we will be informed about sexual assault. We will work as a team,” she said.
Hamilton said the advocate will work to make the victim as comfortable with the situation as possible by explaining the exam, the victim’s rights and the services offered to him or her by CCWRC.
“We let them know there is an agency supporting them,” she said.
As assistant director of the Sylvia Stein Shelter, Hamilton also works to provide direct services to shelter residents in the form of counseling, goal-setting, safety planning, advocacy information and referrals.
“It provides housing for women and their children who are fleeing domestic violence. What we offer in addition to merely a place to stay is on-site counseling,” she said.
Though it is not a long-term shelter, the Sylvia Stein Shelter is staffed with counselors 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
These counselors provide advocacy to help with goal-setting and support from the center. Hamilton said women also receive help from others in similar situations through “a lot of self-healing and group healing” in the domestic violence and sexual assault support groups offered at CCWRC.
“They (the women) get a lot of support from one another. There is a lot of great discussion (in group),” she said.
Group topics may range from the women’s feelings that day to specific situations. “It’s very exciting when things are not planned and it goes off in a very interesting way,” Hamilton said. “You always learn new things.”
Being able to interact with the women who come to the center for help through group sessions and housing provides Hamilton with a unique experience.
“The most fulfilling part of this is working with the women and seeing their strength, witnessing their stories and being part of working toward their goal,” she said. “It’s (the center) a place for healing, “Different people leave in different places. Even if the outcome is not exactly what they want, they have been able to work on other things. We work through individual people and through prevention and education to really change the community.”
For more information about the Centre County Women’s Resource Center, call (814) 238-7066 or visit www.ccwrc.org. To reach the center’s 24-hour crisis hotline, call 1-877-234-5050.
