The Ohio Attorney General's Office is giving the University of Cincinnati thousands of dollars which it will use to enhance services for victims of sexual assault.
UC Police Chief Jason Goodrich says, "We know this is an under-reported crime. You can look at the national crime victimization survey, compare it to the data that's out there and so we just want to take that barrier away as part of the process."
The money, $12,400, will be used to establish a private location on UC's main campus where victims can receive forensic examination services from trained Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) of Butler County. Normally they would have to go to the hospital. The plan is to also include counseling and psychological services as well as community resources such as Women helping Women.
SANE serves sexual assault victims at 28 medical facilities in eight Ohio counties.
According to James Whalen, Director of Public Safety at UC, "Our goal is to create a campus culture in which students feel comfortable coming forward to report a sexual assault."
