Sierra Blaser / Arizona Sonoran News Service

April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month, bringing survivor stories and support efforts to the forefront in Tucson.

More than one in three women and one in four men have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, according to the Arizona Coalition to End Sexual and Domestic Violence.

Adriana Grijalva didn’t expect to be one of these survivors until she was assaulted by one of her friends in mid-February.

Recently re-elected as Associated Students of the University of Arizona student body president, Grijalva took to her Instagram on March 1 to write about her experience dealing with the pain of endometriosis and being taken advantage of a week before her surgery to diagnose the disease.

“A little over a week before my surgery, I was violated by someone I trusted deeply,” she wrote. “The hospital visit and rape test opened my eyes to the reality many face but never speak out about.”

Grijalva said in a deeper conversation that she went out with her family and took the evening off from work and school after feeling stressed from her everyday duties, then went to hang out with one of her friends. He assaulted her later that night.

“I opened up about it (online) because I’m in the public eye. I’m the type of person to be at every meeting, do everything and feel a little down if I’m not doing the job 100%,” Grijalva said. “I actually showed up to work the day after, that afternoon. A lot of that goes to say, I think a lot of people think when you’re in a leadership position, that things couldn’t happen to you.”

That couldn’t be further from the truth, Grijalva said.

At first, she said she was scared to share her experience and worried she would be blamed or asked what she was wearing. Instead, she was surprised by the number of students who showed her support.

“A lot of people messaged me, ‘Hey, this happened to me and I never said anything, and you just showed it’s okay to be vulnerable and it’s OK to have a voice,’” Grijalva said. “I also think the resources here, I mean, a lot of them took such good care of me, and I hope the students know they really do care.”

The post received nearly 800 likes with dozens of comments showing support for the student leader. Her case remains under investigation.

On top of dealing with the assault and endometriosis diagnosis, she was also running a re-election campaign, which she won on Wednesday, March 26.

Though it was a stressful time, she said she’s happy to be able to serve the UA community again and hopes to be a voice for student survivors of sexual violence.

“We can create this sense of reassurance that there are people here listening, and that they don’t have to be scared, because I think there’s a lot of fear of what’s going to happen if (sexual assault survivors) file," she said.

According to the UA’s 2024 Annual Security & Fire Safety Report, there were 26 cases of rape in 2023, including 17 on campus. This number is a significant decrease from the 83 cases reported in 2022, including 75 on campus.

“I think a lot of people think about sexual assault and they think, ‘Oh, that’s never going to happen to me.’ And even if it doesn’t happen to you, most likely it’s going to happen to somebody you know,” said Tamra Ingersoll, public information officer for the University of Arizona’s Office of Public Safety. “Learning about the resources, learning about the community here to support you, learning about the things that you can do to safeguard and prevent being a direct target, that’s so empowering, and that’s what we bring with this resource fair.”

It’s important to note, however, that every time a report is made, a new case is added. In 2022, 64 out of the 79 reported incidents of dating violence—forms of emotional and sexual abuse—occurred in the context of a single dating relationship, according to the Office of Public Safety. It is uncertain if any of the 2022 rape cases are also from this relationship.

“There are multiple ways people can report these (cases). Dean of Students Office, the Compliance Office, … UAPD or through the campus reporting agencies. Like housing has mandatory reporters,” Ingersoll said. “These will all be funneled to compliance, who collects the data and does the investigations around sexual assault for the university, and this is in conjunction, usually, with a police investigation.”

Sexual Assault Awareness Month events in Tucson

Organizations across Tucson are participating in the month to honor survivors and provide resources to the community.

Navigating Healthy Relationships

When: April 8, 5 p.m.
Where: Women and Gender Resource Center
Hosted by: UA’s Campus Health, Pride Alliance, FORCE
Find more information here.

Title IX Reporting Panel: Understand Your Rights

When: April 9, 5:30 p.m.
Where: ASUA Office, SUMC 325
Hosted by: UA’s Survivor Support Services, Title IX, Housing and Residential Life, Institutional Equity
Find more information here

Dine Out for Safety

When: April 16, all day
Where: Various restaurants

Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault will also be hosting Dine Out for Safety on Wednesday, April 16. Twenty restaurants will be participating by donating a portion of that day's proceeds to SACASA.

SACASA provides crisis services, advocacy, support, therapy and education for individuals and families impacted by sexual trauma..

We'll be reporting more on Dine out for Safety as the event gets closer. A list of participating restaurants can be found here.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month resource fair

When: April 17, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m
Where: UA Mall
Find more information here

Challenging the Norm: Combatting Rape Culture and Addressing Barriers to Support

When: April 23, 5:30 p.m.
Where: ASUA Classroom
Find more information here

Denim Day

When: April 30, all day
Where: UA Mall
Hosted by: UA’s WEB
Find more information here

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