Women’s Center hosts film festival, raises awareness about sexual assault

Marshall University's Women's Center hosted Lunafest, a women's film festival that also raises awareness of sexual violence.

The 10 short films featured women from various nationalities and problems they are dealing with in their societies.

"These films are by women, about women and show how talented women are," said Dominique Elmore, graduate assistant in the Women's Center.

According to a 1997 study from the Department of Justice, an estimated one in four women will be sexually assaulted before they graduate from college, said Sharon Pressman, executive director of the CONTACT Rape Crisis Center in Huntington.

"Rape is a word that's hard to say, hard to hear and even harder to think about when it happens to you or someone you love," Pressman said. "Out of those one in four, nine out of 10 of those would know their perpetrator. It will be a casual acquaintance, their friend, their boyfriend or a family member."

Fifty percent of sexual assault that happens on college campuses is alcohol-related, she said.

"Rape happens, and just because you were drinking doesn't negate the fact that you were raped," Pressman said.

"Most people in this age category don't want to tell what happened or the whole truth because they were drinking underage or they were doing drugs," Pressman said. "But the police here are very understanding and see that sexual assault is more important than the underage drinking."

According to the same study, 13 percent of women reported that they were stalked, and 10 percent of those women were sexually assaulted or raped by their stalkers, she said.

The CONTACT Rape Crisis Center can help by having the advocates give safety advice or evidence protection kits, so if the stalking situation escalates, the victim can press charges and have evidence, Pressman said.

Another problem Pressman identified was date rape drugs.

"It happens here and it happens frequently," Pressman said. "Everyone needs to be aware of that."

Sexual violence is a complex problem on the college campus and in the community, she said.  

"The only way we are going to get a handle on it is to work together," Pressman said. "We want to work on prevention and awareness, and we want to let victims know that once something happens, they are a survivor.

"I hope we can inspire not only women but the men that are here, as well as raise awareness to the campus and community about the CONTACT Rape Crisis Center and the Women's Center," she said.

Students who attended the event said they appreciated the message they heard.

"I think the most influential part of Lunafest was seeing all the films targeted to women's issues," said Kristen Tibbs, senior international affairs major. "I would have never watched these films otherwise. They all had real, important messages."

Kimberly Bradley can be contacted at bradley82@marshall.edu.