USU Supports Survivors of Sexual Violence, Encourages Everyone to 'Start by Believing'

Utah State University is kicking off Sexual Assault Awareness Month by participating in its fifth annual Start by Believing Day, in collaboration with Citizens Against Physical and Sexual Abuse (CAPSA).

On Wednesday, April 6, pledge booths with be available on USU’s Logan, Price and Blanding campuses for students, staff, faculty and other community members to take the pledge to Start by Believing and support survivors when they disclose an experience of sexual assault.

“Too often when a survivor discloses a sexual assault, they are blamed and shamed for their experience,” said Felicia Gallegos, outreach and prevention coordinator for the Sexual Assault & Anti-Violence Information (SAAVI) Office. “Even well-intentioned individuals can mistakenly blame or shame a survivor as they are trying to figure out what happened. When we ask questions like, ‘Why did you go there alone? Why didn’t you fight back? Why didn’t you report this sooner?’ we shift responsibility from the perpetrator to the survivor.”

According to the 2021 Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Misconduct, the top reasons students did not tell anyone about their experience with nonconsensual sexual penetration or nonconsensual sexual touching included shame, fear and not thinking their experience was serious enough.

“When we question a survivor’s experience, rather than start by believing, we cause them to feel that they are responsible for what happened to them,” said Jenny Erazo, director of SAAVI. “This ultimately leads to overwhelming feelings of guilt that will stop them from seeking the supportive resources they deserve and create immense barriers to reporting.”

The Start by Believing campaign focuses on shifting the response from blame to support when survivors disclose incidents of sexual violence, helping to create a culture where survivors feel safe to come forward and receive the support they need to heal.

Since USU launched Start by Believing, as well as efforts informing students about how to respond to disclosures of sexual assault, rates of those who said they told a roommate or a close friend about their experience increased by nearly 20 percent, and the percentage of those who said they told no one about their assault decreased from 37.8 percent to 14.7 percent.

“How we respond to disclosures of sexual assault matters,” Gallegos said. “When a survivor discloses a sexual assault, they need to hear, ‘I believe you, I am so sorry this happened to you, how can I help?’”

For more information and to take the pledge to Start by Believing, visit startbybelieving.usu.edu.