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Sexual assault, resources for LGBTQ community addressed in presentation

Author: Cranley, Ellen
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Abstract:
Zohar Fuller, an outreach worker and advocate for the Violence Recovery Program branch of Fenway Health,
spoke about resources and services available to those recovering from sexual assault at her talk in the Center
for Gender, Sexuality and Activism at the George Sherman Union.
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Publication: The Daily Free Press, Boston University, Boston MA.
Zohar Fuller, outreach worker and advocate for the Violence Recovery Program at Fenway Health, speaks to
students at "Sexual Assault in Queer and Trans Communities" Monday at the Center for Gender, Sexuality and
Activism. PHOTO BY ERIN BILLINGS/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF
The Queer Activist Collective and Trans* Listening Circle at Boston University hosted a presentation Monday to
raise awareness about sexual assault in the lesbian, gay, transgender and queer community.
Zohar Fuller, an outreach worker and advocate for the Violence Recovery Program branch of Fenway Health,
spoke about resources and services available to those recovering from sexual assault at her talk in the Center
for Gender, Sexuality and Activism at the George Sherman Union.
"We provide free counseling, advocacy and education for and about LGBTQ-identified survivors of partner
abuse, police misconduct or hate crimes," she said.
The presentation kicked off the CGSA and the Sexual Assault and Response Prevention Center's Sexual
Assault Awareness Week.
Fuller said survivors often experience difficulty in seeking services due to long waiting lists for shelters and the
stigma that surrounds sexual assault.
"When we first started, it was quite a radical program, because no one was doing what the Violence Relief
Program was doing," she said. "We started in the Fenway area [and] started with a relationship with the police
department and trying to navigate how folks could be treated better."
Fenway Health partners with many other Boston area organizations to serve their clients, Fuller said. Sexual
assault has been a prevalent issue among local college communities, and students should know what they
could do independently to prevent instances of sexual assault, she said.
"I know that sexual assault has been an issue on Boston campuses recently, specifically the last two years,"
she said after her presentation. "There has to be students acting out in response to when those events happen
and not let it be shushed."
Fuller said the LGTBQ sphere is especially in need of an understanding community to help becausesupport for
such survivors has not been prevalent in the past.
"The LGTBQ community is so small, at BU, in Boston, in the country, that the network is going to be so small
that it makes it hard for some people to ask for help, because word travels," she said after the talk. "If you can
find people who can be supportive and remain confidential, reaching out to them as an ally could prevent their
whole community from breaking."
Boston is unique, Fuller said, because local resources and support have grown more prevalent, as reflected in
the efforts by the CGSA to spread awareness about sexual assault.
Autumn McArthur, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences and vice president of BU'sQueer Activist

Collective, helped organized the event to include the LGBTQ community in SARP's Sexual Assault Awareness
Week.
"We just want people to know there are resources available for them because many times, queer people don't
often see health care institutions that deal with issues that are specific to us," she said. "Knowing that there is a
place to go for trauma and domestic violence is a good takeaway for anyone from today."
McArthur said open dialogue about sexual assault is important on campus, regardless of the survivor's identity.
"I don't think people want to talk about it, but there is a rape culture on campus, and it's important to bring to
light that it is okay to talk about it, do some myth-busting and realize that this can be a campus that supports
survivors," she said. "There can be improvement, so BU can be a place that deals with domestic violence and
sexual assault."
Several students said they found the information from the presentation effective.
Olivia Lanman, a sophomore in CAS, said more open conversation about violence in the LGBTQ community
canenable the larger discussion about sexual assault.
"Sexual assault is so prevalent in our community, but people aren't aware of how prevalent it is within the
LGTBQ community, so it's nice to have an event centered around it that puts the focus directly on this because
it's sometimes something that gets looked over," she said.
Vanessa Hayashi, a freshman in CAS, said increased awareness on campus is important so that students can
help prevent potentially dangerous situations.
"I learned that there is so much domestic violence that people don't see, and some can hide it very well," she
said. "People should be more conscious of bad situations and careful in dealing with people who might have
experienced violence."
Credit: Ellen Cranley
Subject: Sex crimes; Colleges & universities; Women; Domestic violence; College campuses; Community;
Publication title: University Wire
Publication year: 2015
Publication date: Apr 7, 2015
Year: 2015
Section: News
Publisher: Uloop, Inc.
Place of publication: Carlsbad
Country of publication: United States
Publication subject: General Interest Periodicals--United States
Source type: Newspapers
Language of publication: English
Document type: News
ProQuest document ID: 1670606947
Document URL:
http://du.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1670606947?accountid=14608
Copyright: 2015 UWIRE, a division of Uloop
Last updated: 2015-04-08

Database: ProQuest Central,Social Science Premium Collection

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