Group seeks aid for rape victims

A group of Ohio State students is campaigning against the university and OSU Medical Center, asking OSU to pay for the medical bills of students who have been sexually assaulted on campus and who seek help from the medical center.

?
Zach Tuggle/THE LANTERN Steve David, left, a junior studying in sociology and women's studies, talks with Courtney Tex, a senior photography major, Wednesday afternoon on the South Oval. David was volunteering for Womyn & Allies Rising in Resistance, a group hoping to create a sexual violence victim's fund at Ohio State.

"We're trying to get OSU to create a fund for victims of sexual assault, so when they go to the medical center to seek treatment, they aren't faced with bills of thousands of dollars," said Megan Zakany, a senior in women's studies.

OSU's Women and Allies Rising in Resistance (WARR) is the main group behind this campaign. Although many students involved are not affiliated with the group, WARR was inspired to begin this campaign by people in the community who shared their experiences of being denied treatment because of high hospital bills or a lack of insurance, Zakany said. Pennsylvania State University has had a fund for victims of sexual assault since 2001, a fact that the group has noted.

"We know this type of fund can work because it's already had eight years of success at another Big Ten university, Penn State," Zakany said. "It's actually needs-based so there's no cap on the amount of funding. We're hoping we can do something similar to that here."

Zakany said that the average medical bill after insurance for the victim of a sexual assault ranges from $300 to thousands of dollars. The group demands that OSU not charge survivors who go to the medical center to obtain an evidence collection kit. Another demand is to require all survivors to be informed about antibiotics when seeking treatment for an assault and to have them immediately available upon request.

The group also asks OSU to provide an emergency fund to cover therapy as needed by the survivor, emergency housing and the costs of hospital care.

"We're living on the biggest campus in the United States and we have the highest population of women," Zakany said. "We see that there's a need for this, we want that need to be met and we're demanding that the university acknowledge that there's tons of things they could do. We don't want not having insurance or any of these complications to get in the way of victims seeking medical treatment or getting any care that they need."

Since beginning the campaign, the group says it has met resistance from the university.

"We've had a written petition and there were probably over 500 signatures on it," Zakany said. "We delivered it straight to [OSU President E. Gordon Gee]'s office, but he won't directly meet with us yet."

But the group has been able to meet with a member of Gee's office, Kate Wolford, assistant to the president. Wolford said in an e-mail that Gee has been briefed on the campaign, has received petitions from WARR supporters, and his office has shared the concerns with other senior leaders of the university.

"It seems to me that there is a difference of opinion about how to accomplish things," Wolford said in an e-mail. "Starting with the President's office or the Board of Trustees is not necessarily the best route to get an issue addressed. Demanding action and expecting that the university to react in prescribed ways, regardless of the cause, is not how to get an issue addressed."

Despite these setbacks, several members of the university community have begun working with the group. Julia Kennedy, the University Student Government director of safety and wellness, sought WARR months ago when she heard of their efforts, and has developed strategies and ideas to help the group meet its goals.

"I definitely think that this can go somewhere and there's a good chance that it will," said Kennedy, a junior in psychology.

During Winter Quarter, Kennedy put $5,000 from USG into a pilot fund with the Student Wellness Center for emergency care kits. Although the cap was at $200, the project has served as a start.

As recommended by Wolford, the group has also worked with Vice President of Student Life Javaune Adams-Gaston.

"[Adams-Gaston] has been really helping out, and we've gotten support though there, but no results yet," Zakany said. "But we've consistently tried to make an appointment with Gee, because we think that it's our right as a student organization and as students to be able to meet with the president of the university."

Adams-Gaston has had several meetings with the group, as recently as April 22, and together they are looking at the next step.

"We've been looking at the best way to create that needed fund so that it's an ongoing fund, and not just a one-time fund," Adams-Gaston said. "We've been working very closely together, and my sense is we're making good progress."

Although no date for a resolution has been set, Adams-Gaston hopes to have a resolution in place by the end of the quarter.

"I think it's a very reasonable request [to meet with Gee], and President Gee is very open to meeting with students," Adams-Gaston said. "The reason I'm working so closely with them is to get them the support that they need immediately."

Kennedy said Gee is the final step in the process, and the group needs to work their way up the administration.