Sex assault information coordinator taking 'holistic' approach, including educating men -- and buying huge shoes

By Brooke Nelson

May 31, 2005 | Rachel Hickman admits it was never her plan to be a victim's advocate.

Yet here she is, pioneering the position of USU Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information Coordinator—a position first not just at Utah State, but for all Utah colleges.

First a political science, then a theatre major, "I never imagined I'd end up here," she said, "but I couldn't be happier. I constantly find myself doing things I said I would never do."

After a string of campus rape incidents in 2002, university administration began looking at the resources in place to both help rape victims and prevent sexual violence. Realizing support systems were not unified, the SAAVI office was created and the search for a director began.

"People were doing things to meet the needs of victims, but there was no centralized place a survivor could go to get help," she said. "It was the most intense interview process I've ever been through—above and beyond graduate school."

Impressed by the administration's commitment to the prevention of rape, and their willingness to confront such a difficult topic, Hickman said she was eager to leave her part-time job as a victim's advocate at Brigham Young University's campus and spearhead the new program.

"It was this huge group of people all on the same page. It was way too wonderful to pass up," she said.

In her first year as director, the goal Hickman said, was to "establish working relationships with individuals and departments on campus." Getting involved with community resources was also important, she said.

"Without being connected to the community our program will flounder and fail—it's not just one person," she said. "If it were me alone it would not be nearly as successful."

Hickman and her supporters have already sponsored several events and made some crucial breakthroughs perceptions on campus and education efforts. "Attitudes are definitely shifting as time goes on," she said of the stigma rape holds for many. Still, she says "a lot needs to happen."

Rape may not be an issue students or administration want to face, she said, but Utah State is no exception to general or national trends and awareness is crucial.

The United States Justice Department reports 350 rapes occur per every 10,000 students, but less than 5 percent of them will ever be reported. According to a national men's peer education group, One in Four, 25 percent of women attending college will be victims of rape or attempted rape since the time of their fourteenth birthday.

At USU those numbers translate into over 500 rapes. This semester Hickman said she has talked to almost 20 students. By contrast, in February, USU Police had received only one report of rape since the beginning of the academic year.

Taking a "holistic" approach, the SAAVI office has not only focused on educating women to protect themselves, but also creating awareness in the community and educating men.

The group has sponsored activities including Red Zone Week, Paint the Town Purple, a One in Four presentation and most recently, Walk a Mile in Her Shoes where en from the community were invited to walk a mile on campus in high heels as a fundraiser.

Raiding Payless stores and their Web site, Hickman said she bought about 25 pairs of size 13 shoes.

"We hope to create a large repertoire of shoes over the years," she laughed. But one of the year's biggest accomplishments is the establishment of a One in Four chapter at USU, she said.

With 90 percent of rapes perpetrated by men, Hickman said in a Statesman interview earlier this year, the One in Four program takes men off the defense by teaching them how to help victims and protect women rather than blaming men. The peer education group has had a huge impact on lowering rape and sexual assault rates on campuses in the East, Hickman said, and USU will be the first Utah chapter.

"There is a silent majority out there I would like to mobilize," she said. "I want to give all those good men out there a voice."

Through it all, Hickman said, the USU Greek system has been a vital asset to the program, especially Sigma Phi Epsilon who has helped with all of the SAAVI sponsored events this year.

"They've been a wonderful support," she said. "They are absolute gentleman and hard workers."

Working with a service-oriented student group has been great, she said, but the resources fraternity members provide as campus leaders to get the word out about programs is invaluable.

Activities have been well attended and the One in Four presentation was especially considered a success.

"It was excellent; very powerful," said Sigma Phi Epsilon President Shane Russell. "[Rape and sexual assault] was a topic we didn't necessarily want to hear about or deal with, but it did a good job putting it in perspective for men—showing them what it would be like to be a victim. We all left very taken back."

"I watched it light a fire underneath these young men and increase their respect for women," Hickman said. "It was very, very exciting to hear. Before they had no idea it was such a major issue and after they were saying 'Now I do, and I want to do something about it.

Russell said the fraternity understands that even though sexual violence might not openly addressed in Logan, it is still a serious problems. "It's a hard crime to deal with and so sick," he said, but most of the solution lies in just making people aware."

Fraternity commitment to helping SAAVI will continue, Russell said. "Rachel is extremely dedicated to what she does. She has a great desire to prevent sexual violence," he said. "She does what she does out of passion."

A passion Hickman said she wasn't expecting to find. After completing a bachelor's degree in family sciences, a direction Hickman said she "never saw herself heading," and serving an LDS mission to Canada, Hickman found herself at BYU pursuing a master's degree in marriage and family therapy. As part of an assistantship in the Women's Center at BYU, Hickman replaced a student who been in charge of the programming for violence.

"I found while there were elements of being a therapist I did enjoy, being a victim's advocate was more concrete," she said. "Sometimes being a therapist was kind of ambiguous."

Concrete actions like going with a victim to court or sitting with a woman through a rape examination were thing she Hickman said she couldn't do as a therapist.

"I can help them understand they are normal and not crazy for having the thoughts they do," she said. "I can make a survivor's life a little easier in a really difficult situation."

Always liking to be in motion, Hickman said she finds her release by being able to "fly down the canyon," and thriving in situations filled with variety, Hickman said, "Being a victim's advocate just suits who I am. But helping others goes deeper than that.

"Even though it was a series of circumstances that lead me here, looking back I had friends who had been victims of rape and sexual assault," she said.

Hickman said she realized how much influence her job really can have when she looked back on high school and remembered an incident when she had been subjected to sexual harassment.

"A teacher stepped in as my advocate," she said. "That was a very powerful moment where I had previously felt so out of control. It was a very empowering time that had a major impact on my development."

"Maybe I can't repay her, but maybe I can provide the same gift for someone else."

So with the first year behind her and connections made, Hickman said she is looking forward to great things for SAAVI. Plans continue with the One in Four chapter, and Hickman hopes to promote the campus rape crisis line through better advertising. Domestic violence education among faculty and married students will also eventually be a focus.

"That's been the hardest part of the job," she said. "There are so many wonderful directions to move. I want to do everything."

The most important part of her job, though, is the work she does with victims. Sometimes just being able to tell their story puts them on the road to healing, she said. Above all, Hickman said, she helps them regain control at a time when a woman has been made to feel powerless.

"Just being able to their story with someone who will listen non-judgmentally can help them normalize the experience," she said. "Telling them they are entitled to feel the way they feel, turning the power back to the victim and saying, 'I work for you.'"

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