Problem Statement
The stigma around sexual assault is so huge and because of that people are not
able to get the education they need to learn about this problem, therefore
leading people to not know what to do in these situations.
design questions
- How can we encourage sexual assault education within high schools?
- How might we help these sexual assault cases be taken more seriously?
- How can we help ourselves and others that have been sexually assaulted?
Meet Our Team
viviana CalderonMy name is Viviana Calderon, I am 17 years old and I attend Notre Dame de Sion year 2022. When I joined the DRWI program I wasn’t exactly sure what it was. I joined because I wanted to learn more about business and entrepreneurship and how to run a business. I love this program, because it teaches you how to put your ideas into action. I am a creative thinker and have many ideas I would love to put out there, but struggle to do so. I am in this program to learn better professional and presenting skills as well as how to expand my knowledge when it comes to learning from others, listening to others, and working as a team .
When you’re working on something everyone is all so passionate about, it is the best thing. The problem that my group is exploring is about Sexual Assault awareness and education, and the affects it has on the survivor as well as others around them. The problem is that these sexual assault victims are not only left with the internal traumatic experience, but most are left with mental health problems as well, including PTSD, anxiety, depression, etc. I want to find resources that are informative and easy for people to use to learn more about this topic and educate themselves on how to be safe. And I want anyone who is going through this or has gone through this to be able to get the help they need. Many people are not educated on this topic which is why there are so many people who go through these dangerous situations. This topic is so important to me as a young woman to educate myself on sexual assault and to always be aware. Women ages 16-19 are four times more likely to be victims of sexual assault, attempted rape, and/or rape, which is why this process is so meaningful and special to me and why we should all care about this issue. We need to want to find the root of the problem and care for the safety of all humans. Because without passion for change we will never overcome very serious situations like these. |
isabella cherryHello, I'm Isabella Cherry. I am a senior at Notre Dame de Sion. Growing up, we all heard the phrase "stranger danger." Most children in the world are taught to stay away from strangers. Unfortunately, these sayings often are not the right message and that can cause problems in our society. People sometimes assume that acts of sexual assault and domestic violence are committed by a stranger. Well, that’s not necessarily true. Sometimes we experience this emotional event by people we know such as friends, family members, or even your partner and we don’t know how to handle these situations. The truth is that people never know who might be held responsible for this traumatic event in a person’s life.
The National Statistic of Domestic Violence reports that 46.7% of female victims of rape in the United States were raped by an acquaintance. Of these, 45.4% of female rape victims were raped by an intimate partner. The National Statistics have also reported that, on average, nearly 20 people per minute are physically abused by an intimate partner in the United States. In a year, this equates to more than 10 million women victims of sexual assault and domestic violence during one year. Sexual assault and domestic violence have always been serious topics, but they do not get shown much light from the public. The Criminal Justice System statistics show that only 310 out of every 1,000 sexual assaults are reported to police, which means more than 2 out of 3 go unreported. As a young woman who has personally seen the mental effects that sexual assault and domestic violence can have on a person, I finally feel comfortable to speak up about this sensitive topic. I strongly advise everyone in the community and the world to participate in fundraisers and support groups for children, teens, and even adults who have been victims of sexual assault and domestic violence. I ask the community and the whole world not to shut down, but to help lift and support the survivors and hear and share their stories. |
grace townsendHi I’m Grace Townsend. I’m currently a senior of Notre Dame de Sion HIgh School for Girls. I am currently on both the swim and soccer team at Sion, which I have been apart of ever since I started high school there, and I’m a state swimmer and varsity soccer player and in both sports I am captain for. I also am Scream Team captain and Vice President of SADD Club.
My Junior year was swept underneath my feet from me because of COVID. I was scared of what would happen next for me, my family, my friends, and my life in general. I just wanted to figure everything out for myself, meaning what I wanted to do with my life going forward. I knew my senior year would be different, but I am going into this year with confidence that there will be change. It will not be like last year with dances taken away, no pep-assemblies, no one in the bleachers cheering. I know this year will be better because we grew from COVID and know how to adapt to it. Everything I used to love doing before COVID is back with adaptations. Doing fun things with my family and friends, vacations, going out to eat, everything seems to be back to normal for the most part. My confidence in everything is back and I am not scared anymore to go out into the world in fear of COVID. Being able to lay in my bed at night, in my safe space, knowing that everyone I love and those that make me happy is alright allows me to be at peace. This year in my Designing Real World Impacts class, I chose to talk about the issue with sexual assault and how there is a lack of education on the issue within high schools. Many students do not know that the victims struggle mentally after, and for the most part not get the help they need. I want high schoolers to be educated on this issue and what we can do to help those affected. Since COVID gave me so much more time, it allowed me to explore this issue and learn more about it. This issue is not talked about enough in general, causing me as a young woman to be more passionate about it and want others to understand the depth of the problem, women and men. Together we need to come together to spread awareness and help each other stop it. |
our solution
the teal campaign
WE CREATED THE TEAL CAMPAIGN, THIS SOLUTION GIVES THE GIRLS AS WELL AS VISITORS AT OUR SION COMMUNITY A CHANCE TO SPEAK UP FOR THEMSELVES. THIS WILL GIVE THEM A VOICE AND HELP THE SITUATION THEY ARE IN. WE HAVE THE QR CODE, CODE WORD, HAND SIGNAL, FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED OF HELP. AND WE WILL HAVE GUEST SPEAKERS FROM MOCSA SO THAT PEOPLE RE EDUCATED ON SEXUAL ASSAULT AS WELL AS THE TOPICS THAT SURROUND IT.
- QR CODE : WE CREATED A QR CODE THAT SENDS YOU DIRECTLY TO MOCSA'S HELP PAGE. THIS PAGE HAS THE MISSOURI AND KANSAS HOTLINES AS WELL AS ANSWERS TO MANY DIFFERENT AND DIVERSE SITUATIONS YOU MIGHT BE IN. THESE WILL BE PLACED AROUND THE SCHOOL ESPECIALLY IN THE BATHROOM STALLS SO THAT STUDENTS AND VISITORS GET THE PRIVACY AND COMFORT THEY NEED.
- CODE WORD : THE CODE WORD IS TEAL, THIS WILL CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT AT SCHOOL WHERE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE AND COMFORTED. YOU COULD ASK THE TEACHERS OR COUNSELORS FOR HELP. THIS IS FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE AFRAID TO GET HELP BY THEMSELVES. IT WILL ALSO BE KNOWN THAT TEACHERS ARE MANDATORY REPORTERS SO IF YOU ARE IN DANGER IT IS THEIR JOB TO GET YOU HELP.
- HAND SIGNAL : THE HAND SIGNAL IS A WAY TO ASK FOR HELP IN A MORE DISCREET WAY. AND IT IS THE SAME HAND SIGNAL AS THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SIGNAL.
- GUEST SPEAKERS : THE SPEAKERS WE WILL HAVE WILL COME FROM MOCSA WHICH IS KANSAS CITY'S LOCAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS ORGANIZATION. AND WE WILL TALK ABOUT EDUCATION ON MANY DIFFERENT TOPICS SUCH AS HEALTHY DATING RELATIONSHIPS, WHAT TO DO IF YOU OR YOUR FRIEND WERE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, HOW TO STAY SAFE, ETC.
- QR CODE : WE CREATED A QR CODE THAT SENDS YOU DIRECTLY TO MOCSA'S HELP PAGE. THIS PAGE HAS THE MISSOURI AND KANSAS HOTLINES AS WELL AS ANSWERS TO MANY DIFFERENT AND DIVERSE SITUATIONS YOU MIGHT BE IN. THESE WILL BE PLACED AROUND THE SCHOOL ESPECIALLY IN THE BATHROOM STALLS SO THAT STUDENTS AND VISITORS GET THE PRIVACY AND COMFORT THEY NEED.
- CODE WORD : THE CODE WORD IS TEAL, THIS WILL CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT AT SCHOOL WHERE PEOPLE FEEL SAFE AND COMFORTED. YOU COULD ASK THE TEACHERS OR COUNSELORS FOR HELP. THIS IS FOR PEOPLE WHO MIGHT BE AFRAID TO GET HELP BY THEMSELVES. IT WILL ALSO BE KNOWN THAT TEACHERS ARE MANDATORY REPORTERS SO IF YOU ARE IN DANGER IT IS THEIR JOB TO GET YOU HELP.
- HAND SIGNAL : THE HAND SIGNAL IS A WAY TO ASK FOR HELP IN A MORE DISCREET WAY. AND IT IS THE SAME HAND SIGNAL AS THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SIGNAL.
- GUEST SPEAKERS : THE SPEAKERS WE WILL HAVE WILL COME FROM MOCSA WHICH IS KANSAS CITY'S LOCAL SEXUAL ASSAULT AWARENESS ORGANIZATION. AND WE WILL TALK ABOUT EDUCATION ON MANY DIFFERENT TOPICS SUCH AS HEALTHY DATING RELATIONSHIPS, WHAT TO DO IF YOU OR YOUR FRIEND WERE IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, HOW TO STAY SAFE, ETC.