As we reported in Friday’s edition of The Post, Ohio University’s Campus Care staff isn’t trained to perform sexual assault examinations, which leaves student sexual assault survivors with the sole option in Athens County of venturing to O’Bleness to have a rape kit examination.
Those examinations were available on campus at Hudson Health Center from 1999-2005 but are no longer available because of a variety of reasons — including Campus Care not including Sexual Assault Forensic Examination (SAFE) training in the job description for nurses.
While the program was in effect, a survivor could call a 24-hour hotline and speak with the on-call nurse who would then meet the student at Hudson to perform the examination. Currently, a student must walk or drive to OhioHealth O’Bleness Memorial Hospital, which is 1.2 miles (or about a 25-minute walk) from Campus Care.
We think this is a significant disservice to the Ohio University student body and are thrilled that two university administrators we spoke with — as part of our five-part series about sexual assault in Southeast Ohio — are looking to bring sexual assault examinations back to campus.
Dean of Students Jenny Hall-Jones has asked Campus Care officials to send her a proposal and break down how much that would cost. That proposal, as of Friday, had yet to reach Hall-Jones’ desk. Additionally, President Roderick McDavis is looking for the Presidential Advisory Council on Sexual Misconduct to recommend whether there is a need for rape kit testing on campus.
“One area where we can probably improve is to provide rape kits through Campus Care,” McDavis said.
If you read any of our coverage throughout last week, you’re aware of how great of a problem sexual assault is both on campus and throughout greater Southeast Ohio. We’re glad the university is attempting to further assist sexual assault survivors by exploring how to bring rape kit testing back to campus.
The examinations are a necessary resource for survivors of sexual assault, and we couldn’t advocate for a testing program’s return to campus more strongly.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of The Post’s executive editors.
