After releasing statistics on sexual violence issues from 2012, the Vera House has set a goal to better connect with local colleges, such as Syracuse University.

Domestic and sexual violence continue to be significant problems within the Syracuse community — there were 18,329 domestic violence calls and 832 sex offense calls answered by both the Syracuse Police Department and the Onondaga County Sheriff’s Office in 2012, according to the statistics released by Vera House in its 24th annual report.

Vera House is a nonprofit organization with a mission to end domestic violence and sexual assaults, assist families in crisis and promote respect in relationships, according to its website.

Randi Bregman, executive director of Vera House, said the statistics for domestic violence in the city of Syracuse remained “fairly consistent” through the years, but the number of calls increased from 10,470 in 2011 to 10,703 in 2012.

In Onondaga County, Bregman said she was slightly surprised when Vera House reported that the number of calls answered rose to 7,626, which she said was higher than she has typically seen.

“I think that the statistics showed us, as they do year after year, that domestic and sexual violence are very significant problems in our community and that we have come a long way in our response,” Bregman said, “but we know that we still have a long way to go.”

Along with the statistics, Vera House also released a goal sheet for the 2013-2014 year, which listed “assist local college campuses and school districts with educating and responding to sexual assault in their settings” as a top priority.

Bregman said there have been national changes in the way universities are addressing and reporting sexual assaults on campuses.  She said pushing to report the violence “is a good thing,” but she is worried that victims may have a false sense of confidentiality.

“I think that work will continue here in our community with the local colleges to continue to find that balance between acknowledging that sexual assaults happen on their campus and protecting the victim’s right to safety and confidentiality,” Bregman said.

Janet Epstein, the director of the Advocacy Center, said in an email the Advocacy Center and Vera House plan to partner up to increase campus awareness about domestic and sexual violence, and continue to make students aware of the resources available at Vera House.

There are numerous Vera House programs that have extended out to SU, such as the White Ribbon Campaign, the 12 Men Model, the Men’s Outreach Program and the Mentors in Violence Prevention Program, Epstein said.

“Vera House is a valued partner in both the advocacy and prevention efforts of the Advocacy Center,” Epstein said. “The presence of Vera House on campus strengthens the message that sexual and relationship violence are issues that impact every one of us.”

Eric McGriff, co-president of A Men’s Issue, a student organization that works closely with the Advocacy Center, said he would love to see more programs like the 12 Men Model on campus.

McGriff said Vera House provides many opportunities for students to get involved in domestic and sexual violence prevention and education programs at SU.

But he added that he has doubts on what Vera House can do to encourage students to participate.

“We can’t just force them to all of a sudden become these youth advocates for change,” said McGriff, a junior political philosophy and women and gender studies major.

James Hill, a Department of Public Safety detective, said Vera House has worked with DPS in the past by providing training for officers.

As an officer who deals with many sex offense crimes, Hill said he has attended the training sessions before and added he hopes to see Vera House and DPS continue to work together in the future.

Vera House provides three accountability programs: Alternatives, which is for men who have been abusive to female partners; STEPS, which is for women arrested for domestic violence related crimes and the Domestic Violence Impact Program, which is a four-hour course for men and women charged with domestic violence related offenses.

Through these programs, Vera House was able to educate more than 570 participants in 2012, according to the 24th Annual Report.

Said Bregman: “I think the numbers that we saw strengthens the resolve to try to do more prevention.”

Published on November 6, 2013 at 12:29 am

Contact Kate: kacapoda@syr.edu