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The One in Four Walk: Four male Central Michigan University students are taking a stand against sexual assault. In May, Pat Hanlin, Steve McAllister, Joe McCarthy, and Mike Charbonneau begin walking across the country to raise awareness about sexual assault crime and raise money for the Sexual Assault Victim's.We will be walking between 25-30 miles a day for about 7 months. Assistance Fund. For more, visit www.oneinfour.f2s.com
. Mission Statement: It is the mission of THE WALK to move closer to a sexual assault free society by increasing awareness through media attention, public speaking, and the contents of this website. We also hope to raise funds for the Victims Assistance Fund at Central Michigan University. The Mission In Detail: Granted, our mission statement is broad and simple but it encompasses many different and complex subjects. The following section will break down our mission statement piece by piece so you can have a better understanding of what THE WALK is all about. Do we really expect that THE WALK will result in a sexual assault free society? We would be naive to think that four guys walking across the country could eradicate sexual assault from our society. We would also be selling ourselves short to think that a cross country walk, possibly involving thousands of people and informing millions, would be fruitless. Obviously a seven month walk will not end sexual assault, but it could help mainstream society join the fight that so many women and men have been fighting for many years. THE WALK has given us the opportunity to discuss sexual assault with many people whom we would not have had the chance to share dialogue with. The potential that THE WALK has to raise awareness is limitless, but we cannot do it on our own. The people who join us in the fight are going to be the ones who make the difference. We need people of influence to join us, namely you. About what are you raising awareness? There are many aspects of sexual assault that mainstream society does not know about: 1. One out of four women in the United States will be the victim of a completed act of sexual assault in their lifetime. Many experts would call that statistic conservative because of the extremely low report rate of sexual assault. 2. Out of 100 sexual assault survivors who were attacked by strangers, 30 would report the occurrence to the police. Out of 100 sexual assault survivors who were attacked by people that they know, 1 will report the occurrence to the police. 3. In 80% of all sexual assaults the perpetrator is someone that the victim knows. The average amount of time that the victim knows the attacker is one year. 4. Men can be sexually assaulted. Emergency room statistics show that 10 out of 100 people treated for sexual assaults are men. Emergency room statistics are used because men who report sexual assaults are usually assaulted by two or more men and the injuries that the man experiences are so severe that medical attention is required. Also, it should be noted that most of the time the perpetrators involved in a male on male sexual assault are heterosexual. 5. Sexual assault is as much of a men's issue as it is a women's issue. Men are sexually assaulted and all men love someone who has been sexually assaulted, whether they know it or not. Men need to be informed that they do have a place in the prevention of sexual assault and taught how they can help in the fight. What is the Victims Assistance Fund? The Victims Assistance Fund at CMU is a source of money that is available for students who are sexually assaulted. In addition to the trauma that survivors experience being sexually assaulted, they are also responsible, at least in Michigan, to pay for the cost ($800-$1000) of the collection of evidence through a rape evidence exam. This evidence is often vital in the successful prosecution of perpetrators. We believe that these exams should be covered by some sort of public funding. Until this occurs, the Victims Assistance Fund will cover the cost of these examinations for CMU students.
This mission statement will evolve as we discover how THE WALK can best benefit others. |