Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear brought his campus sexual assault awareness effort to Murray State Monday. Beshear recently launched a video contest called ‘Voice of Justice.’
The project encourages college students to make videos that promote sexual assault awareness and encourages victims to report assaults. Beshear said incidents often go unreported and that can make perpetrators feel like it’s easier to get away with.
“These people who engage in this kind of horrific activity think they can get away with it because so often they do, but we need to empower people, not only to make that report to get that perpetrator but also to make sure the victim gets the services they need.” Beshear said.
Other speakers included director of the Purchase Area Sexual Assault and Child Advocacy Center Lori Brown, coordinator for the Murray State Women’s Center Abigail French, and Calloway county attorney Bryan Ernstberger. French said she believes the region is on par with the numbers Beshear quoted. She said there are many reasons why a victim might not report their assault.
“Sometimes they don’t know what their options are. And that’s one role the Women’s Center really tries to fill, being able to talk to students and let them know what their options are. And sometimes it’s fear. Students are afraid they’ll be ridiculed by their peers or they’re afraid that they won’t be believed, they’re afraid that someone will blame them.” French said.
Ernstberger said at the event he handles local campus sexual assault cases before they go to the commonwealth attorney. He said the number of incidents in Calloway are low and doesn’t believe all of them are being reported. He urged victims to not be afraid reach out to local police saying “no one takes these reports more serious than we do.”
Beshear has said sexual assault awareness and prevention are top priorities for his office. He launched a research effort with the University of Louisville in January to address a 2015 audit that revealed Kentucky had 3,000 rape kits. In 2016 the state legislature approved spending four-point-five million dollars to alleviate the backlog.
