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1st
appeared 29 April 1999
Town Hall Meeting on Campus Safety, May 3
April is sexual assault awareness month, but experts
say women should never let down their guard at any time.
Throughout the year, the Center for Gender Equity's Sexual and Relationship Violence
Resource Program conducts free training for departments and organizations to educate both
women and men how to avoid being a target.
In response to concerns about sexual assaults on and around the Parnassus campus, the
Center for Gender Equity and the UCSF Police Department will discuss personal safety tips
and answer questions at a special town hall meeting on campus safety, Monday, May 3, noon
to 1:30 p.m., in Toland Hall.
"I will be giving basic safety information that people can use in their home, in
their car and on the street," says Danielle Tillman, UCSF coordinator of the Sexual
and Relationship Violence Resource Program for the past two years. With a master's degree
in women's studies, Tillman has a special interest in educating women how to better
protect themselves.
"People need to realize, however, that going to one meeting will not provide them
ultimate protection. But we can make ourselves less of a target through education,"
she says.
Serving students, staff and faculty at UCSF and in the Bay Area, Tillman offers workshops
that give valuable information and tools to aid resistance and recovery. Communication
also is critical to raising awareness of personal safety, she adds. "This is a first
step in acknowledging the problem and working towards ending it."
The goals of the program are to decrease the incidence of sexual assault in the general
campus communities through education; reduce individual vulnerability and to encourage
people to take more responsibility for themselves and others. "The aim is to
encourage independence, confidence, assertiveness, and self-esteem and to foster an
awareness of the real nature and extent of sexual assault in the environment," she
says.
In her workshops, Tillman uncovers the myths and realities of sexual assault, shares a
list of local assault-related resources and outlines options for self-defense.
Other services include self-defense classes and workshops for children; support groups for
sexual assault survivors; crisis counseling and referrals; and advocacy for sexual
harassment cases. A small reference collection of books and articles on sexual assault is
available at The Center for Gender Equity's office, located at 100 Medical Center Way,
Woods Building, Ground Level, Box 0909. For more information about the program, call
476-5223. To register for a self-defense class, call 476-5222.
SAFETY TIPS:
Walk confidently. Be alert. Notice who passes you and
who is behind you.
Wear clothes that will give you freedom of movement.
If a person in a car stops you for directions or
information, always reply from a safe distance. Never get too close to the car.
If you feel you are in danger, do not be afraid to
scream and run away.
Links:
Center for Gender Equity
UCSF Police Department
UCSF Beefs Up Security
After Series of Attacks |
