Tufts has developed a new method to promote the safety and well-being of its students. The Tufts University Women's Center, located at 55 Talbot Avenue, has instituted a student response line for sexual assault, harassment, rape, and abusive relationships. The program, called Students Sexual Assault Response Assistance (SSARA), provides the student body with a rapid response service that gives confidential support and information to victims of sexual assault, harassment, or abuse.
Certified by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, eight female students serve as volunteer assistants to a counselor-on-call, physician-on-call, and administrator-on-call, all of whom are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The student assistants are on-call with cellular phones on a rotating basis. Kathy Savage, a nursing coordinator at Health Services, and Peggy Barrett, director of the Women's Center, serve as alternate on-call backups to the student assistants.
With the network of staff in place, Savage says she is confident the program will succeed. "The reason SSARA will prove to be successful is the dedication and commitment that everyone involved with this service has demonstrated," Savage said.
The student assistants are certified by the state's Rape Crisis Services, but the completion of the course does not signify the end of their training. Associate Director of Counseling Sherry Richman and a trained rape crisis counselor from the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center meet with the student assistants each month to provide supervision and ongoing training.
When an on-call student assistant is beeped, the assistant seeks a private area where the call can be returned. In this way, the caller has access to the resources available to the assistant, as well as short-term counseling if they choose to meet the assistant.
Assistants are also available to accompany callers when they get medical care, counseling, or file complaints, and no permanent records are kept of the calls.
Many students have welcomed the new program as a helpful resource for the Tufts community, praising the system that allows callers to speak to their fellow students. "I think it's encouraging to see this program here," sophomore Christina Zahara said. "Sexual violation, whether it is in the form of harassment or rape, is a sensitive and deeply personal subject," Zahara said. "Some students may not feel comfortable sharing this type of incident with friends or adults. It is important to have the opportunity to seek support and advice from a trained student with the knowledge that shared information is confidential."
"I think that there is definitely an advantage in being able to speak to someone your own age when you have that sort of a problem," senior Abby Noble said. "There is a certain level of familiarity and comfort that comes with talking to a peer that you can't always get with someone older or younger."
Residents of Richardson House, Tufts' all-female dorm, have also spoken in favor of the initiative. "It would be great to have someone your age to talk to in that kind of situation," senior Tracy Rosa said. "A student would know what you're going through, and the program gives the caller access to adults if necessary."
Though freshman Kim Nguyen, another Richardson resident, said she doesn't see rape as a significant problem at Tufts, she said she is glad to know the program is here if she needs it. "The program is kind of like Richardson," she said. "Here we have a network of support and community."
"We're always here for each other just in case this kind of problem, or any other kind of problem, arises," Nguyen said.
But some students say they're skeptical that their classmates are capable of providing adequate counseling. "I'm not sure I would take advantage of the counseling part of it simply because the people on call are students," freshman Lauren Gesserman said. "Even though they have been trained to assist rape and abuse victims, it's not the same as having a professional to talk to."
But Gesserman said that she would call the student number if she needed to, if only to be referred to a more qualified professional.
According to SSARA volunteer junior Liz Monnin, the students do not take the place of professionals, but rather act as a central location where students can get information about available resources.
"For survivors, they are often unsure if they want medical attention or if they want to file charges, so it can be confusing to know who to call for help when you're not even sure yet what help you want," Monnin said.
"SSARA fills a critical role of having all of the information and resources centralized - we are there just to listen, we are there to answer questions, we are there to guide people in the right direction for the resources that they say they want."
The Students Sexual Assault Response Assistance program provides support to students whether or not they are using other campus support resources such as the Counseling Center or Health Service. To reach a student assistant, call 617-435-7272.
