The Micbigan Daily-- Thursday, October 26, 1989 - Page 5
Sexual Assault Awareness
Week
SAPAC shows how to help
by Gwen Shaffer
When supporting a survivor of sexual assault,
people must remain non-judgmental and keep a
"sympathetic ear," a counselor said during a Sex-
ual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center
(SAPAC) brown bag lunch and discussion yes-
terday.
"No one ever invites rape," SAPAC Coun-
selor Kata Issari said. "The rapist chooses to take
advantage of the situation."
The program, titled "Friends Helping Friends:
How to Help a Survivor of Sexual Assault," was
one of several SAPAC-sponsored campus events.
during Sexual Assault Awareness Week.
The workshop focused on what family mem-
bers and friends can do to make recovery from-
sexual assault easier for the survivor.
A group of students started the week about
five years ago on campus. The main purpose of
the week, Issari said, is "to get people thinking
about the issue of sexual assault and how it af-
fects them and the community. We want to break
the silence and support the survivors."
Although everyone is a potential victim of
sexual assault, the most likely victims are
women between the ages of 17-24, said Issari,
who led the brown bag discussion yesterday.
When reacting to a survivor, Issari said it is
necessary to remember that sexual assault is a
life-threatening experience. "The survivor has
been forced into the most intimate act we know,
making it the deepest violation possible," she
said.
Often it is difficult for survivor to tell some-
rape survivors
one they have been sexually assaulted, Issari said,
adding that they feel ashamed, fear they won't be
believed, or no longer know who to trust.
However, people who simply let survivors
know they are there for them, and that they care,;
can make a big difference, Issari said: "Act as,
normal as you can, but not as if nothing hap-
pened."
While getting help for the survivor is very
important, "you can't push someone to see a
counselor until they want to be there," she said.
Most participants said the discussion was
worthwhile. "I learned a lot about how to bring
up the subject of sexual assault," said LSA ju-
nior Angela Loftus. "I'll be more comfortable
talking to or helping out my friends."
"It was interesting to see a lot of men here
and caring about the issue," she added.
Rape
survivors
to 'Speak
out'
by Laura Counts
Daily Women's Issues Reporter
Survivors of sexual assault will
have the opportunity to "break the
silence" and talk about their experi-
ences during the third annual "speak
out" tonight in the Michigan Union
Ballroom.
"The purpose is to celebrate the
strength of survivors in going for-
ward with their lives. It is also an
opportunity for the community to.
listen and show their support," said
Kata Issari, a counselor at the Sexual
Assault Prevention and Awareness
Center and organizer of the event.
Issari said although the speak out
can be painful and even tearful, it is
not negative. "It aims to turn what
is a really horrible experience into
something positive" by empowering
the survivor, she said. She added that
the environment is one of energy and
warmth.
Everyone is invited to the pro-
gram, and Issari stressed that sur-
vivors are encouraged to attend even
if they do not want to identify them-
selves.
Survivors may choose to speak
from a media or non-media micro-
phone from which they can be seen,
or from an anonymous mike back-
stage. The microphone will only be
open to survivors, Issari said, to
give them as much encouragement
to speak as possible.
Original artwork by survivors
will be displayed during the event.
More than 500 people, including
about 100 men, attended last year's
speak out.
San Francisco resident Suzanne Kleiman holds up a pair of panty hose
while searching through the rubble of her earthquake-demolished home
yesterday.
i
QUAKE
Continued from Page 1
billion quake relief package
Wednesday, and sent it to the House,
which had passed a $2.85 billion
measure just a day before. The
Senate bill tacked on $600 million
for Small Business Administration
*emergency loans.
VA survey in yesterday's San
Francisco Chronicle found 36
percent of Bay area residents polled
found the federal response to the
quake "fair" or "poor."
Forty-nine percent found it
"excellent" or "good," compared with
72 percent who felt that way about
the local government response and a
* 59 percent positive rating for the
state.
Damage estimates have been set a
$7.1 billion.
Police said six people remained
unaccounted for, and the death toll
from the Oct. 17 quake remained at
63, including 39 from the collapse
of double-decked Interstate 880 in
Oakland.
New aftershocks did not damage
the structure as crews continued to
dismantle it. An aftershock of 4.5,
the strongest in four days, was
registered on Tuesday evening and a
3.7 shock followed yesterday
morning, the latest of about 3,500
aftershocks since the quake.
Buck Helm, the I-880 survivor,
remained in serious8but stable
condition. "He's doing well," said
Phyllis Brown, a spokeswoman for
Highland General Hospital in
Oakland.
Yesterday, BankAmerica Corp.
announced it would give $1.1
million to quake relief programs, in
addition to $250,000 already donated
to the Red Cross.
And state aid has begun to flow.
Santa Cruz County got a $356,460
check from state Controler Gray
Davis on Tuesday. The check is 75
percent of the money the county
already has spent on earthquake
response.
Film and discussion examine gender
by Karen Akerlof
Daily Staff Writer
"For most of history learning one's (gender)
role was relatively easy. The man, being bigger
and stronger, protected the family from enemies
and dangerous animals."
By demonstrating the archaism of gender
stereotypes, "Masculine or Feminine: Your Role
in Society" - a film shown last night by the
Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center
- began its exploration and critique of male and
female stereotypes.
More than 30 people attended the event, one
of several events recognizing Sexual Assault
Awareness Week.
John Ifcher, co-coordinator of the center's peer
program and the coordinator of men's issues,
said, "We believe sexual assault is an issue for
both men and women. It occurs because of how
men are socialized. Men are brought up to be ag-
gressive, dominant, and to take control away
from other people."
Ifcher said he was constantly embarrassed by
men because of their violence against women.
"Women are more interested in changing men
than men are interested in changing themselves,"
he said.
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