Robby Donoho is a junior here at Fast Track whose major is Mass Communication. His talents are many, but nothing can compare to his eloquence behind the camera. Robby exhibits an amazing skill of anchoring for both behind-the-desk news stories and sports commentaries. As he has developed his talent in this course, he has extended it to be able to give accurate, energetic and informative play-by-play accounts of basketball, football and many other games and has also developed a very unique yet comfortable sense of improvising behind-the-camera conversation. Robby’s personable yet no-nonsense demeanor has been an excellent balance to many of the more playful personalities that have graced this semester’s Fast Track, and he is sure to command attention during the tapings to keep things running effectively.

Robby, you have certainly earned this recognition! We hope that you continue to excel in all that you do and we will be looking for you as one of the next big sports personalities! Congratulations!

Sexual Assault can take many forms and can happen at any given time. The effects of this abuse are just as varied as the acts themselves.

Effects

• Flashbacks of past incidents
• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
• Pregnancy
• Sexually Transmitted Infections/HIV
• Rape Trauma Syndrome
• Battered Woman Syndrome
• Body Memories (when the stress of the memory of abuse manifest themselves physically)
• Borderline Personality Disorder (this is a condition which is hard to explain or comprehend for most because those who are afflicted with this condition are often witty, intelligent and social but there behavior is inconsistent.) Border Personality Disorder can include:
• a)    a fear of being abandoned or alone which can lead to frantic efforts to avoid such a state of being
  b)    intense and unstable relationships which swing between idealization and devaluation
  c)    unstable self-image or sense of self
  d)    impulsivity (e.g., substance abuse, reckless sexual encounters, binge eating, reckless driving…)
  e)    suicidal or self-mutilating thoughts or behaviors
  f)    extremely unstable moods that last from a few hours to a few days
  g)    inappropriate or overwhelming anger and rage
  h)    transient, stress-related paranoia or dissociative symptoms
  i)    hypersensitivity to nonverbal communication and expression
  j)     related paranoia or dissociative symptoms

But despite the severity of these effects we here at FastTrack want to stress the fact that there is help for victims of assault. There are numerous organizations around the country with outreach programs that provide a variety of services for survivors. Purdue University’s Student Wellness Office (as well as any Planned Parenthood office) provides anonymous HIV/STD testing, emergency contraception and have Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners on staff. Purdue also provides counseling at the Purdue University Counseling and Psychological Services Offices. It’s never too late to receive assistance if you have been attacked or to help others who have been. Below are links to websites that can be used to help you regain control over your life and body.

https://www.purdue.edu/caps/

http://www.purdue.edu/swo/index.shtml

http://www.rainn.org

http://www.plannedparenthood.org

As well all know the month of April has been declared Sexual Assault Awareness Month across the nation. But what many do not know is what actually constitutes sexual assault of sexual harassment. To help alleviate confusion and help promote awareness against sexual assault here is list of the different forms of sexual violence and their definitions.

• RAPE/SEXUAL ASSAULT
➢Sexual assault is any unwanted sexual contact, which includes touching and fondling in a sexual manner.
➢Rape is described as forced sexual intercourse, which includes vaginal, oral and anal penetration by a body part or an object.
➢In some states these terms are used interchangeably.

•ACQUAINTANCE RAPE
➢This form of assault involves sexual activity that occurs by way of force, violence or intimidation against the victim by a friend, date or acquaintance.
➢It is important to note that any previous relationships or acts of intimacy are not lasting invitations to sexual activity and are insufficient indicators of consent. Verbal consent must be obtained in each instance of sexual intimacy.
➢Like other forms of assault this is also motivated by a need to control or humiliate the victim.

• CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE
➢Child sexual abuse is different from incest because it refers to a child/adolescent being assaulted by an individual outside of the family.
➢The types of contact include any anything that is harmful to a child’s emotional/mental/physical welfare such as:
a. Fondling
b. Obscene phone calls
c. Exhibitionism
d. Masturbation
e. Intercourse
f. Oral or anal sex
g. Prostitution
h. Pornography

• DATING/DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
➢This is described as any act, attempt or threat by an individual against another family member or their partner.
➢This includes but is not limited to:
a. Intimidation
b. Threats of physical or sexual harm
c. Imposing isolation
d. Emotional abuse

• PARTNER RAPE
➢Partner rape is any sexual act committed by a person’s current/previous partner or co-habitator without their permission. Partner Rape includes:
a. Battering rape- the combination of physical and sexual violence experienced in the relationship. This can be in the form of physical abuse during the sexual assault or sexual assault after a physical attack as an attempt by the attacker to make up for his/her actions.
b. Force-only rape-this is motivated by the perpetrator’s desire to illustrate their power over the victim and maintain control. The attacker is motivated by their feelings of entitlement to or possession of their partner.

• DRUG FACILITATED SEXUAL ASSAULT
➢Drug facilitated assault is the term used when drugs or alcohol are used to disturb an individuals ability to consent or not consent to sexual activity, limit the targets ability to resist their attacker or to impair their memory of the event.
➢ The drugs often used for attacks are GHB, GBL, Rohypnol and Benzodiazepines which:
➢ Can be odorless, colorless and tastes (except for GBL) when placed in liquid.
➢ Begin to work within 5-30 minutes after being ingested.
➢ And leave the victim with virtually no recollection of what happened.
➢ Other substances that are often used are Ketamine, Ecstasy.

• HATE CRIMES
➢A hate crime is when individuals are victimized based on their race, religion, national origin, ethnicity, gender and/or sexual orientation.
➢Some people consider all forms of assault against women to be hate crimes because they are usually acts of misogyny.
➢Members of the LGBTQ community are often targets of hate crimes and the majority of these assaults are sexual.

• INCEST
➢Incest is the term for sexual contact between people who are closely related; it usually includes an older family member sexually abusing a child/adolescent.
➢The victims are usually told that what’s occurring is normal and happens in other families so they are less likely to seek help.
➢Victims may also be threatened to prevent them from seeking help or, due to the relationship between the child/adolescent and the adult, they may fear what will happen to their attacker if they come clean about the assault.
➢Unlike typical cases of child abuse, incest prevents the victim from going to the family for help even if they have limited options for assistance outside of the family. In some cases of incest other adults (not participating in the abuse) may be aware of the abuse but fail to act against it.

• MALE SEXUAL ASSAULT
➢Male victims are often overlooked due to stereotypes that men are immune to common victimization or that men natural enjoy any sexual activity so therefore there is no such thing as unwanted sexual contact. Despite these persistent ideologies men ARE victims of sexual assault.

• SEXUAL EXPLOITATION BY PROFESSIONALS
➢This category includes sexual contact of any kind between any professional (doctor, teacher, officer, etc) and their patient/student/client such as:
a. Sexual activity in the context of a professional service.
b. Sexual activity under the guise of therapeutic benefit.

• SEXUAL HARASSMENT
➢Quid pro quo-when the perpetrator makes an employees comfort at work contingent on tem providing sexual favors.
➢Hostile environment-when an employer makes persistent sexual advances or engages in blatant sexual misconduct.
➢Sexual harassment includes the following behaviors:
a. Suggestive starring
b. Explicit jokes
c. Sexually motivated comments
d. Grabbing
e. Invading someone’s personal space.

• STRANGER RAPE
➢Blitz sexual assault- the perpetrator rapidly and brutally assaults a victim (usually at night in public areas).
➢Contact sexual assault- the perpetrator engages the victim in conversation to gain their confidence before assaulting them. Usually victims are picked in places such as bars and later attack in a different area.
➢Home invasion sexual assault- the perpetrator breaks into the victims’ home and assaults them.

• CYBERSTALKING
➢Cyberstalking is currently defined as any threatening behaviors or unwanted advances directed to an individual via the internet or other forms of wireless communication such as text messages. Although cyberstalking is fairly new it is still very serious and may precede offline stalking, sexual assault, physical violence and murder.
➢1 in every 12 women is a victim of stalking in her lifetime.
➢31% of women stalked by a current or former intimate partner are also sexually assaulted by that partner.
➢81% of women who are stalked by an intimate partner are also physically assaulted by that partner.

Keep checking FastTrack for more information on sexual assault…

The month of April has been designated Sexual Assault Awareness Month (S.A.A.M). The goal of S.A.A.M is to educate individuals in order to help prevent sexual violence in America.

Here are a few statistics to help illustrate the prevalence of sexual assault:
- 1 out of every 6 American women will be the victim of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime.

- Of all female rape victims minority women are more likely to be victims compared to their White counterparts. (34.1% Native American, 24.4% Mixed Race, 18.8% Black women vs. 17.7% White women)

- Roughly 1 out of every 33 American men have been victims or completed or attempted rape.

- The majority of rape victims are under the age of 30. (80% under 30, 44% under 18 and 29% between 12-17)

In addition to this victims of sexual assault are:
- 3x more likely to suffer from depression.
- 6x more likely to suffer from post-traumatic stress.
- 13X more likely to abuse alcohol.
- 26x more likely to abuse drugs.
- 4x more likely to contemplate suicide.

In next week’s segment we will present you with different forms of sexual assault as well as more of the long term effects.