The facelessness of the Internet tends to receive a bad rap for breeding trolls, people who sling hateful comments at others from behind their computer screens. However, a nonprofit company out of San Francisco is using the lack of direct human interaction over the World Wide Web to its advantage with its new online sexual assault reporting system.
Callisto allows college students to report instances of sexual assault virtually, without coming face to face with another person. The system is designed to make the victim feel comfortable by having different options for reporting assault. A student who has been sexually assaulted can visit Callisto and create a time-stamped report that they can chose to share with their college instantaneously or keep confidential until they feel fit.
Susan McCallister, associate director of the Department of Public Safety & Security and member of the sexual assault prevention and response task force at Auburn, said the University has been working toward providing an online platform for combating sexual assault for close to one year.
“One of those things that came out of that is we really want to make more information available online and make it more user friendly to students,” McCallister said.
Callisto offers students an option to share their report with their college only if another student reports the same person. If a student chooses to participate in the matching system, they must add the perpetrator’s Facebook URL to the report. The system will then detect matches in reports entered into the system and send the reports featuring the same perpetrator to the college.
McCallister said while she likes the idea of the matching system, she does not like the system has to rely on Facebook.
“I like the idea of having some kind of matching program,” McCallister said. “I think it is a neat idea to do that behind the scenes electronically, but I hate that they are having to rely on Facebook for that right now, because a lot of people might not know the person’s Facebook profile.”
However, McCallister said she does think an online system like Callisto would appeal to students.
“I think the college population we have now feels more comfortable communicating that way,” McCallister said. “I think it can also be very uncomfortable to go talk to a stranger about such a personal incident.”
Trista Head, freshman in engineering, said she thinks an online reporting system would increase the number of students who would report sexual assault.
“It involves less effort, for one thing, and less embarrassment,” Head said.
Lyn Littleton, instructor of R.A.D., a women’s self-defense class offered at Auburn, said while she agrees the online reporting system is good for initially reporting incidents of sexual assault, she still encourages victims to seek person-to-person help.
“I think in the long run it’s best for them to talk to someone person-to-person,” Littleton said. “I think it is healthier for them to do that and seek that support.”
McCallister said reports of sexual assault have gone up at Auburn in the recent years, which she sees as a positive thing.
“I don’t think it means there has been an increase in actual incidents,” McCallister said. “I think people are just more aware that they can report it and are more comfortable doing so.”
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