U of I and IC Victims Share their Stories

April 14, 2014

Model+is+Ella+Ostedgaard+16

Caroline Brown

Model is Ella Ostedgaard ’16

Sexual Assault Statistics
(You can click on this image to view it larger)

From notinmynature.com under Stories: The Blog

 

THEN.

…but I froze. there was no penetration so I told myself it wasn’t rape. It wasn’t sexual assault. It wasn’t…

 

after.

I snuck out in a blind fit of fear, running through the dark alleys,sure I would be found.

I called a friend crying, afraid to call the police because of what was in my system. I was afraid they would tell me that wasn’t an assault, and why was I wasting their time.

 

SOPHOMORE YEAR

…I blamed myself, because I had a feeling he might have had some feelings for me even though he knew I was seeing someone and that I’m gay and don’t even like guys romantically. I felt like I had led him on, and that’s why he thought it was ok to do that.

 

It took me several months to understand that it wasn’t my fault, it was his entirely.

 

I think the worst part though, is that he knows what he did and he couldn’t even respect me enough to apologize…

 

Not Unusual

…Last Spring, I was walking my two small dogs and was standing on the corner of Market and Governor St. waiting for the light to change. It was the middle of the day. A car with three men in it pulls up to wait at the red light and one man in the back seat leaned out of the window and started barking at me. His buddies in the front seat laughed and egged him on. I was too shocked to react; the light turned green and they were gone before I realized that a grown man was barking at me because I was walking my dogs enjoying the nice weather. I turned around and took them home. I didn’t walk them again without my partner for a month…

 

As a Brother

…I have a sister that attends the University as well and she has been raped twice since she started here…twice. Let that sink in.

 

As a brother, this makes me outraged. She feels she cannot come to anybody else, but me. That is the atmosphere the other students, the administration, and the community have created. It breaks my heart to think of all the people that must go through this experience and remain silent…

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