Oxford Sexual Crime Prevention
By Andi Magnuson OCT. 6, 2017
One in five women and one in 16 men are assaulted during their college career.
At Ole Miss, between January 1st to December 31st in 2016 there were 14 sexual battery cases. This year there have been 15 sexual battery cases already with almost three months of the year left. Prevention is how most police departments and organizations combat sexual crimes.
Some Tips to Help Prevent Sexual Crimes
Investigator Marcus Wilson at the Oxford Police Department gave tips for prevention to help students avoid sexual crimes.
- “Walk with a group,” Marcus Wilson, Investigator at the Oxford Police Department said.
- “Never leave any area with anyone you don’t know.
- Know your limits when you are drinking alcohol.
- Always be with someone you know.
- Be mindful of your surrounding areas.”
At the Delta Gamma house, a sorority at Ole Miss, students are taking precautions to avoid sexual crimes, and to ensure that their sorority sisters are safe too.
“I keep my phone charged because if you do not have a phone you don’t have a way to contact somebody if you need help,” Maddie Beck, a Delta Gamma Sorority Sister at Ole Miss said. “I stay with friends.”
More tips to prevent crime of all kinds are located at the University of Mississippi Police and Campus website.
Help for Victims
According to the Violence Prevention Office at Ole Miss, “fewer than five percent of college women who are victims report it to the police.” Ole Miss students can report their incident to the University of Mississippi Campus Police or the Oxford City Police Department. There is also a service called Rebel Patrol Escort that can come and pick you up.
Photo is taken of the flyer for the Rebel Patrol Escort at the University of Mississippi Campus Police Station. By Andi Magnuson.
If a victim feels uncomfortable and needs help calling the police they have an option of allowing services to help them through the process, and the Family Crisis Services in Oxford is one resource that will help. First, this service makes sure the victim is in a safe location, then they call the police for the victim, and they can meet the victim at the hospital if needed.
“We have a rule if you see something do something. Here we offer free services for victims of sexual assault,” Wanda Woods, an employee at Family Crisis Services in Oxford said. “The University of Mississippi also has counseling services.”
There are other resources such as Rebels Against Sexual Assault at Ole Miss and the University Counseling Center for students to get help in Oxford. Some other resources locally are Communicare of Oxford and Baptist Memorial Hospital.
Here is a map of locations were victims can receive services when needed.
Woods would like all victims of sexual crimes to remember that “no matter what happens you count, you matter and you did not ask someone to assault you.”