by Janelle Kohnert
Staff Writer

Lori Pugh replicated the University of Washington’s Red Flag Project two weeks ago as a project for Rachel David’s Gender Violence and Social Change course.

Displaying 1,470 red flags that represented potential female victims of sexual assault, the project evoked comments and questions of validity among SCC students and teachers.

The display, which was constructed to raise awareness on the reality of sexual assault in the college environment, emphasized that one in four women become victims.

For many students and faculty at SCC, criminal sexual assault is not an easily defined term. “[It] is any genital, oral, or anal penetration by a part of the accused [person’s] body or by an object, using force or without the victim’s consent,” said Pugh.

Though the two are often confused, sexual assault is often classified as rape, attempted rape or molestation. Although Pugh’s Red Flag Project did not include molestation victims.

Sexual harassment is “demanding sexual behaviors in exchange for awards or creating a hostile work or school environment for a person through sexual behavior,” said David.

Although men aren’t assaulted as frequently as women, Pugh didn’t include in her display the statistic that one in 10 males are victims of sexual assault.

“I had sincerely hoped to place white flags beside the red ones on campus to represent the male victims,” she said, “but I ran out of time and finances.”

Pugh learned that one in four women are victims of sexual assault from the UW version of the Red Flag Project and confirmed the statistic with David.

She combined that information with the female population at SCC, which she received from Jim James, SCC vice president of Academic Affairs to establish that 1,470 women at SCC may become victims of rape or attempted rape.

Though 80-90 percent of rapes or attempted rapes remain unreported, national anonymous surveys have allowed for accurate statistics to be available so the general public may be aware of the potential danger they face.

Feedback from the Red Flag Project varied between students. “Some students felt very glad that someone took the time to place all those flags and to bring sexual assault into the minds of people here,” said Lynette Peters, program manager of the Women’s Center.

Students who experienced sexual assault told Peters and Pugh that they considered the display a painful reminder every time they had to pass it by, but nonetheless, recognized the importance of its impact.

“This is something we cannot afford to turn a blind eye to,” said Pugh, “It’s worth every effort to eradicate in our communities.”