By Chris Mueller
When Katie Menard tells her story, she calls herself a survivor.
Menard is a senior at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point who now talks openly about being sexually assaulted by a classmate last year. It wasn’t always so easy.
“I never thought once in my life that I would ever be put in that situation,” she said. “Then I was...You feel like you lose something. You feel like you lose that power. I started looking at myself and blaming myself as a victim.”
She grappled with whether to tell anyone what happened, but eventually reported the sexual assault to the university. Menard wasn’t drinking when she was sexually assaulted, but alcohol is a common factor in sexual assaults at campuses in the state, according to a UW System report. A bill introduced last week would ensure sexual assault victims and others who report such crimes can’t be cited or disciplined for underage drinking.
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