Addressing Sexual Assault

Many students would not know where to turn if you they found themselves the victim of a sexual assault at Providence College. VASE, which stands for Victims, Advocacy, Support and Education, was introduced to PC at the beginning of the Fall 2009 semester to address such circumstances.

"The purpose of VASE is to provide advocacy and support to victims of sexual assault and dating violence and to provide education about these important issues to the entire PC community," says Kendra Marasco, the VASE program coordinator, in a recent interview.
Among the resources it offers is a hotline that students can call for information, referral, or support. Marasco responds to the calls herself, although students also have the option of speaking with a male staff member if they prefer. Marasco's personal involvement with students extends further than fielding phone calls.

"I, as the VASE program coordinator, am available to meet with students in person, if they so choose, and am able to walk them through the process of reporting on campus or with the Providence Police Department," said Marasco. "I can also arrange to accompany victims to court."

 In the case of a sexual assault, if a student reports to Residence Life or Security first, that student will be asked if he or she would like to have Marasco call him or her. If the student declines, Res. Life or Security will check back with the student within a day or two and ask one more time.

"The student is empowered to make the choice about VASE's involvement," said Marasco.
A significant way in which VASE builds upon Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), the program in place at PC, is by the introduction of peer educators. Dora Szekely ‘10, one of VASE's peer educators, shared her thoughts on SART.

"SART was great if you wanted people who were not trained as first responders, available only from the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and also have full-time jobs to attend to within those hours," she said.

"I commend Father Shanley for wanting to create a group, as there was none before his presidency, but I don't think he was aware of how unfortunately useless it was. The people in it had great intentions, but it was not remotely helpful. The administration with the help of Kendra Marasco finally saw this and eliminated the program, replacing it with VASE."

Peer educators are not trained as first responders or advocates, but they are able to answer any questions students may have and lead them to resources. Additionally, Marasco will return calls at any hour, and students may contact her without having to file a report.

Szekely conducted a survey at PC which asked students who they would feel the most comfortable turning to in the case of a sexual assault, given the options of RAs or Hall Directors, Safety and Security, Campus Ministry, a team of peer responders (not yet created), Health Center or the Personal Counseling Center, and the peer responders option received the clear highest percentage of answers.

Three students, Meghan Daniel ‘12, Nichole Gauthier ‘11, and Szekely, recently completed the four-hour training session to become educators, and they held their first talk in McVinney Hall last Sunday. A second training session will be offered in the fall to all who are interested.

While PC's introduction of VASE marks a step forward in terms of the school's sexual assault response, some other similar sized, Catholic colleges, like Boston College, boast more resources and on-campus visibility of programs. BC's Women's Resource Center (WRC), in addition to providing services, is an office where students can gather on couches and read from an extensive library.

"There are always staff members working in the office, but they must also be available to do crisis counseling for any students who need it, often for sexual assault, eating disorders, or relationship issues," says Michael Wolf, a sophomore at BC and the first male staff member at the WRC.

"Each staff member also heads up two or three programs that are aimed at the whole student body," said Wolf.

As of now, VASE lacks any formal physical headquarters on campus, but its peer educators will be holding events to educate students on the topics of sexual assault and domestic violence starting next September.