Programs

Watch Your Drink, Watch Your Friend
September 02, 2010

What is WYD, WYF?

Watch Your Drink, Watch Your Friend is a campaign designed to educate the public on the potential dangers of drug assisted sexual assault.

What does the Campaign Involve?

  • Building partnerships between local restaurant and bar owners to bring awareness to drug facilitated sexual assault. Prior to launching the campaign, the center contacts as many bar and restaurant owners as possible to solicit support for this program.
  • On the night the campaign is launched, volunteers distribute educational materials about drug assisted sexual assault to participating bars and restaurants. These campaign materials have safety tips including:
    • Do Not accept drinks from strangers.
    • Never leave your drink unattended.
    • Go out in pairs or in groups.
    • Do Not leave anyone in your group behind.
    • Reach Out if you think you have been drugged.
  • Sending out Press releases and talking to local media regarding the dangers of drug facilitated sexual assault and how to make the public aware and how to prevent this from happening.
  • The creation of Public Service Announcements which bring awareness about drug-facilitated sexual assault to the local community.

Why do we have the Campaign?

As part of the agency’s mission, we aim to spread awareness about drug -facilitated sexual assault in hopes of preventing it from occurring in our local community. Between the years of 2006 and 2008, the Sexual Assault Resource Center provided services to 258 survivors in which drug-facilitated sexual assault was implicated. The most common drug used in these cases was alcohol; this mirrors statistics from across the country which identifies alcohol consumption as a recurring factor in sexual assault cases. This includes the Harvard School of Public Health Alcohol Study of 2001 which claimed that between 50 and 72% of all campus sexual assaults involve the use of alcohol.

The Sexual Assault Resource Center (SARC) continues to believe that drug facilitated sexual assault is an important issue that needs to be addressed. The 258 survivors that were provided services by SARC are those incidences where individuals have known about SARC services and have not been ashamed or embarrassed to come forward. National Statistics provided by the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) has said that 60% of rapes are never reported. One can imagine how that percentage can become higher if drugs or alcohol are involved.

What are the Goals of WYD, WYF?

  • To allow restaurant and bars owners to take responsibility for what goes on in their venues.
  • To bring light to this type of sexual assault and hope that someone who may have experienced it will not feel like it was their fault.
  • To educate the public particularly college and college aged students on ways to protect themselves and their friends when they go out.
  • To bring awareness to SARC and our services so that people know they have somewhere to go if they are victimized or if they simply have questions regarding sexual assault.

2010 Sponsors

  • United Way of the Brazos Valley
  • Coalition of Alcohol Responsibility and Education (CARE)
  • The Eccell Group

2010 Media Partners

  • KBTX
  • KRHD
  • KYLE

2010 Participating Bars and Restaurants

  • Hookah Station
  • Ubar
  • Basil Whippets
  • Dudley's Draw
  • Fitzwilly's Bar and Grille
  • Howard's Lounge
  • Paddock Lane
  • Tipsy Turtle
  • Lux Nightclub
  • Madhatter's
  • Murphy's Law
  • O'Bannon's Taphouse
  • Whiskey River
  • Dry Bean
  • Dixie Chicken
  • Zapatos Cantina

Campaign Materials

  • Napkins
  • Coasters
  • Flashlights w/ Whistles
  • T-Shirts

 67th Advocate Training

What is Advocate Training?

The Sexual Assault Resource Center's advocate training program prepares individuals to help survivors of sexual assaults through their personal crisis, legal matters, and medical concerns. The training is free and approved by the Office of Attorney General. All individuals who complete the training are certified advocates through the OAG.

The training covers 40 hours of material including victim's rights, effects of sexual assault on survivors, role of law enforecenment, forensic exams, and much more!

When Does Training Start?

The next training will begin Saturday August 14, 2010. For a full schedule, please email Brooke at bwyatt@sarcbv.org