KU students launch ‘Support for Survivors’ following threats of women being roofied
At Blue Valley High School in Overland Park, Chaaya Minhas was warned not to drink or do drugs. But she doesn’t recall sexual violence being part of the conversation.
So when she arrived at the University of Kansas as a freshman, she was appalled to hear about the culture of sexual assault and harassment surrounding campus life.
Minhas started hearing stories in the dining halls about women who woke up in a man’s bed after a night out with no recollection of what happened in his room. She heard about parties where men would bet on who could sleep with a woman first. She has friends who have been assaulted during their time as KU students.
She learned of “Shark Night,” which Jason Frederick, director of conduct for the University of Kansas’ student-led Inter-Fraternity Council, told the Lawrence Journal-World is one of the worst nights for sexual assaults.
Now a junior, Minhas is majoring in women, gender and sexuality studies and psychology. While enrolled in the psychology department’s women and violence course this semester Minhas found camaraderie in a group of students — mostly women — who were passionate about learning the ways in which society is built around sexual violence and how it’s impacted their lives.
“It was like a giant group therapy session,” said one of Minhas’ classmates, Caroline Bono, a junior studying psychology and political science on a pre-law track.
As they began to mesh the statistics they were learning in class with their lived experiences, they noticed a need. What if they created a similar student-led environment for survivors on campus?
Last October, a woman filed a lawsuit against KU, the City of Lawrence, and three police officers after she was charged with filing a false report of rape. Prosecutors had dropped the case, but she accused the parties of mishandling her sexual assault investigation.
In February, a KU doctoral student alleged in a federal lawsuit that a professor disparaged and treated her unfairly after she accused one of his other grad students of sexual misconduct, which led to that man’s expulsion.
“We were like, I mean if we really want to do this, let’s do it,” said Emilee Girard, a sophomore studying psychology, with a pre-law track.
The idea for Support for Survivors was born.
Then, in the first weekend of March, on the eve of International Women’s Day, messages began circulating among women on campus, especially those in sororities.
“Hi everyone! Please be careful when at the bars this week,” one read, in part. “We were informed a fraternity is to ‘roofy’ 15 girls each as a pledge obligation … Always monitor your drink at all times and be safe!!”
Another message read: “It has been confirmed that three girls from another chapter were indeed drugged while going out tonight. Please be careful and do not go out to the bars!”
The executive team of Support for Survivors decided something had to be done.
“We weren’t exactly ready to launch, but we couldn’t just stand by and watch it happening,” said Jessie Porter, a senior studying psychology, and secretary of Support for Survivors.
They launched their social media accounts, posting guides and resources, as well as the message: “Drugging someone without consent is assault. Even if you don’t plan on further assaulting the person after,” and “Women’s bodies are not objects for your entertainment.”
They hoped to do what they could to warn other students about the threats.
Erinn Barcomb-Peterson, a spokeswoman for KU, said Monday that the university is aware of the social media posts and has been in discussion with the Lawrence Police Department about the allegations.
“We encourage anyone who believes that they are a victim of a crime to contact law enforcement so an investigation can be done,” she said in a statement.
When reached Monday, Lt. David Ernst with the Lawrence Police Department said they have not identified any victims of the threats being circulated. He said they’ve also checked with the local hospital and law enforcement partners to see if they know of any victims. So far they do not.
However, Ernst encouraged anyone with information on any suspects, victims or locations of such a crime to reach out to the police department. Those who wish to remain anonymous to report through Crimestoppers at 785-843-8477.
Ethan Stubbs, KU’s director of Sorority & Fraternity Life, sent a letter on March 7 to the sorority and fraternity community asking anyone with information on the “recent disturbing reports” to contact KU or law enforcement.
“At this time SFL has not been made aware of actual evidence linking it to a specific organization within our community,” Stubbs wrote. “However, these allegations if true are beyond disturbing and not aligned with what is expected of our member groups and/or its members. SFL is actively working to uncover more about the allegation(s) and if found to be true, those responsible will be held accountable.”
In the meantime, Support for Survivors is making itself available to any students who need to talk.
The executive team met virtually on Tuesday, sorting out bylaws and creating a constitution in order to become officially affiliated with KU.
They now have about 20 members, with nine woman heading the executive team. Most are majoring in psychology, political science, women, gender and sexuality studies or pre-law.
Girard, now the president, said while their main goal is to provide group support, the organization also hopes to implement long-lasting change through education and information.
Last year, 13% of all college students experienced rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence or incapacitation, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network. The rate is highest among undergraduate students, with women most often the victims.
Porter, the group’s secretary, said during a group interview with The Star that her sister was sexually assaulted when she was a child and didn’t begin talking openly about it until a decade later.
“For me, hearing everything that she went through and how she felt so isolated … I made a vow to myself that if there was ever anything I could do to prevent other people from going through that, that I would absolutely do that,” she said.
“There’s this culture that tends to blame women for being raped, not just at university, but in general,” said Sierra Roy, a senior studying psychology and a member of the group’s community outreach team. “For me this group is to show women, or anyone that’s been sexually assaulted, that it’s not their fault at all.”
The university provides resources to students through their Sexual Assault Prevention & Education Center. More on-campus resources can be found at https://sapec.ku.edu/resources.
