Vanderbilt Survivors Instagram account shares stories of survivors of sexual assault

Vanderbilt pupil creates platform for survivors of sexual set on to anonymously share their stories and connect with other survivors.

Graphic that says You are believed here.

Jorie Fawcett

Words of affirmation as seen on @vusurvivors on Instagram (Hustler Staff/Jorie Fawcett)

Editor's note: This piece contains mentions of sexual assault.

An Instagram account called @vusurvivors was created this past wintertime interruption with a mission to aid survivors of sexual assail share their stories. Last semester, there were at least ten sexual assaults reported on campus, six of which occurred between move-in in late August and early Oct.

We spoke with the owner of @vusurvivors, a current Vanderbilt first-year. The account owner has been granted anonymity to maintain the ability to keep the account agile, and go on consistency with anonymous survivors reporting to their account.

"I was inspired to make the business relationship after my own experiences on campus involving the Title IX office on campus, too as a Hustler article past Claire Rich. As a survivor, the process of going through a Title IX hearing is a very isolating procedure and it felt like people in Nashville and Vanderbilt did non understand what I was going through," they said. "However, I did experience supported past other survivors and allies beyond the campus, and then I wanted to bring people together, and then that both survivors who realize that they are survivors and survivors who don't realize that what has happened to them is non okay tin can come together and push button back against that normalized culture of sexual violence."

While the account possessor has only been at Vanderbilt for a few months, they said that they easily noticed the rising number of sexual attack cases and general drinking culture in the Vanderbilt and Nashville communities. When the account owner was assaulted so soon upon arriving in Nashville for the first fourth dimension, it was hard for them to process that what happened to them was sexual assail. Although they acknowledge that Vanderbilt chooses to report incidences of sexual set on to students even when they are not legally required to , they also said that the Vanderbilt assistants needs to do more about sexual assail on campus. In their own personal feel, Broadway—and especially the mode that it normalizes heavy drinking—has created an environment conducive to sexual assault.

"There is a civilisation around sexual assault and sexual violence that is very normalized at Vanderbilt, especially because most of what I have encountered through running this folio has been alcohol-related acquaintance-based violence," the business relationship owner said. "I think that that is often the most normalized considering there is this notion that boozer sexual practice in higher is merely part of the college feel, which is really simply normalized sexual assault."

The account owner was inspired by a different Instagram business relationship, @abolishvandyifcpanhellenic , which also shares pupil stories. While the two are not related, this account has shared stories of survivors of sexual assault when they are related to Greek Life events on campus. Because the account owner's assault was not at an IFC result, they wanted to give other survivors the platform to share their stories and survivors that have been assaulted by members of the IFC community the adventure to tell their stories.

"Most survivors who take reported their stories to my account accept non directly given a connection to an IFC effect or being assaulted by an IFC member," the account owner said. "Greek [Life] events have the potential to accept the issue where people feel safe considering they are on campus, since campus police are present and some of the IFC events are registered. Nonetheless, Greek [Life] events still obviously lead to horrible acts of sexual violence."

Project Safe has been a major resource and help to the account possessor throughout their fourth dimension running the account. They explained that they regularly check in with the staff at Project Safe to make certain the right steps are being taken in regards to posts and anonymity.

"Project Rubber is 1 of the all-time resources on campus for anyone and anybody," the account owner said. "I have attended the Neurobiology of Trauma class as well as the Eyewitness Intervention Grooming. Project Condom does everything they can to help."

Project Condom also serves as a cardinal resource for those impacted by sexual violence and assists victims with navigating internal campus support, similar the Title IX office and the University Counseling Center, too every bit external support and constabulary enforcement resource.

Additionally, Project Condom offers programming for students and kinesthesia to become educated on how to be a proficient bystander. Under their Awareness, Prevention, Intervention, and Culture Change Programming is Bystander Intervention Training, which engages potential bystanders through " sensation, education, and skills-practice, in proactive behaviors that found intolerance of violence as the norm." These types of programming can be brought to dorm events, classes, cohorts and campus organizations.

As far as visions for the folio going frontwards, their biggest goal is to protect the mental health of survivors, while nonetheless sharing every bit many survivor stories as possible. The account owner is besides keeping a database of names sent to the account, and then that survivors can connect with ane another and not feel so lonely. The names of abusers are not shared with other survivors unless permission is given, and never publicly on the business relationship. The account owner also urges all readers, students, staff and faculty to be skilful, prepared bystanders.

"Stop normalizing sexual assault—do not romanticize drunken sex or sexual acts when intoxicated," the account owner said. "Existence aware of the bystander event and actively working confronting it is huge."