"There is difference and there is power. And who holds the power decides the meaning of the difference." --June Jordan

Thursday, April 30, 2009

It's not just a problem in Wasilla, Alaska

From the student paper at The Ohio State University:
A group of Ohio State students is campaigning against the university and OSU Medical Center, asking OSU to pay for the medical bills of students who have been sexually assaulted on campus and who seek help from the medical center.

"We're trying to get OSU to create a fund for victims of sexual assault, so when they go to the medical center to seek treatment, they aren't faced with bills of thousands of dollars," said Megan Zakany, a senior in women's studies.

...

Zakany said that the average medical bill after insurance for the victim of a sexual assault ranges from $300 to thousands of dollars. The group demands that OSU not charge survivors who go to the medical center to obtain an evidence collection kit. Another demand is to require all survivors to be informed about antibiotics when seeking treatment for an assault and to have them immediately available upon request.

The group also asks OSU to provide an emergency fund to cover therapy as needed by the survivor, emergency housing and the costs of hospital care.

"We're living on the biggest campus in the United States and we have the highest population of women," Zakany said. "We see that there's a need for this, we want that need to be met and we're demanding that the university acknowledge that there's tons of things they could do. We don't want not having insurance or any of these complications to get in the way of victims seeking medical treatment or getting any care that they need."

2 comments:

plumpdumpling said...

This, I totally agree with and am proud to know about.

Too bad there are going to be sooooooo many girls faking rape now just for the free meds.

Tracey said...

I'm glad you're on board.
However, I think the "fakers" can probably find an easier way to get some Plan B than to endure an invasive evidence-collection procedure.

Speaking of which, 17-year-olds can get Plan B without a prescription now!