RESPECT Celebrates Ten Years on Campus and Hosts Regional Conference

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The student peer education group RESPECT is celebrating its 10^th year of service on the University of Arkansas campus. The group works to educate the university and northwest Arkansas community about the causes and prevention of sexual abuse. RESPECT is an acronym for Rape Education Services by Peers Encouraging Conscious Thought.

This year, RESPECT is proud to host the Area 6 regional conference of the Boosting Alcohol Consciousness Concerning the Health of University Students , or BACCHUS, Network at the Arkansas Union, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 26-27. Members of 13 institutions from neighboring states will be represented at this year’s conference. As part of the conference, RESPECT will present two breakout sessions: one dealing with drug-facilitated rape and the other addressing media influences within a rape culture.

RESPECT was developed by the office of support, training, advocacy and resources on sexual assault and relationship violence, STAR Central, as a program of the University Health Services. By January 2000, with grant money secured and under the guidance of Mary A. Wyandt-Hiebert, director of STAR Central, six students were hired to serve as the first peer education team that would reach out to students of the University of Arkansas and its surrounding community.

“RESPECT was the best experience I had in both my undergraduate and graduate school program. I still draw upon what I learned during that time, especially when I work with clients who have been sexually abused,” said Erica Boughfman, a former member of the first RESPECT group who is now working toward her doctorate in counselor education .

“I work as a counselor with adolescents and often work with clients who have been sexually abused and/or raped. I often think back to what I learned as a RESPECT member to help in working with these clients. I will also say that working with RESPECT made me appreciate prevention work in general and find that I apply that to the field of mental health and hope to continue with that work.”

The RESPECT program has grown each year as additional grant money has been secured. In 2002, the office of university housing and STAR Central fostered a collaboration to create two live-in positions, housed in Reid Hall, as a way to better provide awareness and education programs for those who live within the residence halls on campus. Currently, there is a total of 11 peer educators, including the two who live in Reid Hall.

From its beginning, RESPECT members, both men and women, have  trained as peer educators to provide rape awareness, prevention, risk reduction and bystander intervention education with a message of advocacy for victims and survivors. They take this message to university classes, organizations, residence halls, Greek organizations and other campus groups. RESPECT also collaborates with community service providers to address the issue of sexual assault through community awareness initiatives.

RESPECT uses the concept of peer education to maximize its message and in an effort to transform the college community’s norms and attitudes toward rape. Peer educators are college students providing programming to other college students. This is accomplished through multifaceted and innovative efforts to include interactive classroom presentations, awareness activities and events, and campuswide participatory programs. RESPECT offers the “While the Professor is Away Program,” which enables RESPECT to present in a professor’s class when the professor must be away on business rather than canceling their classes. This has provided an excellent opportunity to reach out to students across campus.

In addition, a number of campuswide initiatives are undertaken throughout the year to bring about awareness of sexual assault issues, educate others about risk-reduction strategies, and use campus and community resources to provide support for victims of sexual assault. Many of these outreach events are well-known on campus and throughout the community and . RESPECT has gained a strong foundation and presence throughout northwest Arkansas. Those who have served as RESPECT interns continue to take lessons learned as a peer educator and make it a part of their lives.

“RESPECT has taught me how to meet people where they are at in life,” said former member Ben Christy. “By that, I mean we are all growing through various stages of life. I learned that it is important to understand where people are, what I need to do (if anything) to be there with them in their time of need.”

Christy has used the skills he gained to help others. “I have done work with Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, in the Victims Intervention Program. With VIP, I met with victims of rape after they reported the crime to the police and before the doctors gathered forensic evidence. I helped the victims start to make the transition to becoming a survivor by helping them deal with the initial stages of a rape.”

Other former members have similar experiences. “ My experience with RESPECT was influential in my decision to focus my public health career on highly sensitive public health issues such as HIV/AIDS and tobacco-related health disparities,” said former member Melanie Davis. “ Currently I manage grants, which include projects, that focus on the prevention and reduction of sexual violence and victimization. The experiences that I had with RESPECT allow me to manage these grants more effectively by incorporating my understanding and appreciation for the importance of the peer education model and sexual assault.”

RESPECT has been recognized at the national and regional levels for outstanding contributions to the field of peer education. In November 2007, RESPECT was nationally recognized as the Peer Education Outstanding Affiliate by the BACCHUS  Network. The following year, RESPECT received the Spirit Award from the Area 6 BACCHUS Peer Education Network. In 2009, the group once again received recognition as they were awarded the regional Peer Education Outstanding Affiliate Award by the Area 6 Bacchus Peer Education Network.

As Sexual Assault Awareness Month approaches in April, RESPECT has a number of programs planned to bring the issue of sexual violence to the forefront of discussion. Tentatively scheduled are:

• Bows of Silence, March 31

• Poetry Slam, April 6

• Survivor Stories, April 8

• Mock Rape Trial, April 14

• The 1 in 4 No More Flag Project, April 19-23

• Dress Down to Raise Awareness Day, April 23

• Take Back the Night March, April 23.