Rose Vega
Staff Writer | rvega.express@gmail.com
College students are prone to sleepless nights and to long hours of work. They are also more likely to experience sexual violence.
One of five women and one of 16 men are sexually assaulted in college, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. These numbers are believed to be lower than the actual number of assaults, as 90 percent of survivors do not report attacks, says the NSVRC.
In recognition of these facts, the Los Rios Community College District worked with the local Women Escaping A Violent Environment chapter last year to create a confidential advocate for Los Rios Community College District students. Since September 2016, 25-year-old Erienne Ramos has been the WEAVE confidential advocate for the district and for the City College campus.
“My primary role is to provide support to survivors of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking to students, faculty and staff of the Los Rios District,” says Ramos.
Before the service was available, students only had two options after being assaulted. They could go to the campus Title IX officer or the Los Rios Police Department. Both groups are required to report the incident, whereas the WEAVE advocate is not.
All of the services provided by the WEAVE advocate are free and confidential, so that students can feel safe and receive the help they need. Ramos is available to City College students on Monday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. or by email or phone.
WEAVE does not just provide services for women. All of its services are available to anyone, regardless of gender identity.
“We’ve been serving people of all gender identities for a long time. All of our services are open to people of all gender identities,” says Ramos.
WEAVE doesn’t just help those who have been physically assaulted either. Support and services are meant to help all sorts of abuse, whether physical violence takes place or not.
“Sometimes people think they can’t refer folks to WEAVE because, ‘Oh my partner never hit me’ and it doesn’t matter,” Ramos says. “We talk about six different types of abuse. So when I present, I talk about physical, emotional, sexual, financial, spiritual and technological. So if someone is experiencing any of those they can receive our services.”
WEAVE is Sacramento’s sole rape crisis center and non-profit organization founded in 1978. The organization is dedicated to providing survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and sex trafficking with support and free services.
Erienne Ramos can be reached at WEAVEConfidentialAdvocate@losrios.edu or (916) 568-3011.
The WEAVE 24/7 support and information line is (916) 920-2952. To report an incident of abuse, contact the Los Rios Police Department at (916) 558-2221 or the campus Title IX officer at tinyurl.com/grrjyzh.