UC Riverside Walks "A Mile In Their Shoes"
October 20, 2011
By Chelsea Santos

To commence Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a group of over 40 UC Riverside students, staff members, community leaders and members of the the County of Riverside joined together at Olmsted Plaza for the "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes" event last Tuesday, Oct. 4. Sponsored by the Women's Resource Center, the walk brought issues of rape, sexual assault and gender violence into focus within the Riverside community.

Led by UC Riverside student Remie Rahman, a R.E.A.C.H. peer educator at the Well, the symbolic mile-long walk began from Olmsted Plaza, circumvented the Belltower, and extended toward the Rivera Library arches, where representatives from different organizations tabled for the event. Domestic violence statistics were posted in the area, allowing participants to learn about the realities of its prevalence and effects on men and women in the United States.

According to research by the California Department of Justice in 2008, 99 of 113 domestic violence homicides in 2008 were female and the remaining 14 were male. In the United States, a woman is assaulted or beaten every 9 seconds, as reported by the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention in 2006. In the Riverside community, specifically the UC campus, domestic violence has also become an ostensible reality.

Riverside County District Attorney Paul Zellerbach informed participants of the harsh realities of offenses on campus. She stated that in each of the past few years there have been at least five forcible sex offenses reported. Zellerbach said, "In a recent study by a National Institute of Justice, nearly 20 percent of women and 6 percent of men are victims of completed or attempted sexual assault while in college. This is why it is crucial that we as a campus, working with community partners like the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and the Family Justice Center, come together to raise awareness about the prevalence and impact of domestic and relationship violence."

Furthermore, Zellerbach emphasized that many studies show that women are disproportionately at risk of sexual assault during their freshman year. National research has also determined that victims of acts of sexual violence tend to shy away from seeking the help of authorities. Which is why the walk called for greater vigilance from continuing and new students, and aimed to establish an understanding that issues of dating and relationship violence are not just fictitious themes on television shows, but a common reality.

UC Riverside student Annie Orozco attested, "After taking a Women's Studies course and becoming familiar with rape and sexual assault statistics, I learned that the issues really do go unnoticed. I feel that freshman come to college thinking that it'll never happen to them. Riverside isn't the safest area either, so freshmen should know that it isn't a good idea to walk alone at night."

Yasmin Abdi added, "Especially at parties, you always have to be careful. I feel that when freshman go out, it's easy to lose control and then wake up, not knowing what happened the night before, so it's important to be with sober people who can take care of you."

During her 15 years of experience at the Women's Resource Center, the walk's head coordinator and organizer Dr. Adrienne Sims found that domestic and relationship violence are not just present, but prevalent at UC Riverside and on other college campuses. The American Association of University Women, of which UC Riverside is a new member, stated that the physical injury and psychological trauma sustained by victims of attempted or completed sexual assault affect women's pursuit of their educational degrees, leaving a mark on their personal and professional lives.

"At UC Riverside, the most frequent reason that holds students back from reporting relationship violence is ‘I didn't think the incident was serious enough to report,'" Dr. Sims said. "What I want students to understand is that they shouldn't be oblivious to these issues. To help lessen or prevent them, they should exercise caution, put into place certain boundaries, and use the resources available on campus, such as the Women's Resource Center and the Counseling Center for support."

In his closing remarks of the ceremony, Zellerbach stated that the construction of a nurturing environment for victims and prevention of incidences depend on the collective responsibility of the Riverside community. Above all, students should remain cognizant of each other not only to ensure widespread comfort and safety, but to solidify our solidarity with those who have been affected.