TEXAS
Baylor Lariat
By Kalyn Story
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Baylor has held several opportunities for students to get involved and educated on the issue. Although the month is ending, sexual assault awareness remains relevant.
Justin Smith, 2010 Baylor Law School graduate and current partner vat Sloan, Bagley, Hatcher & Perry Law Firm in Longview, has tried several sexual abuse and assault cases. Smith said he believes it is a much bigger problem than people realize.
“It is great that we have Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but we don’t need a month, we need 12 months,” Smith said. “We need 365 days of awareness and support for victims. Victims are affected for much longer than a month, and we need to be aware all the time.”
Smith said he is glad America is recognizing sexual assault as a problem now, but he believes sexual assault awareness had been virtually nonexistent until recently. Specifically, he cites the realization of abuse within the Catholic Church and Boy Scouts as helping open up the discussion about sexual assault. Despite this, Smith said he doesn’t want the conversation to stop there.
Note: This is an Abuse Tracker excerpt. Click the title to view the full text of the original article. If the original article is no longer available, see our News Archive.