Calif. Women's Center to air on 60 Minutes

April 15, 2011 |
Valor

Joelle Gomez, Executive Director, Women's Center of San Joaquin County

This Sunday, April 17 at 6 p.m., Joelle Gomez, Executive Director from the Women’s Center of San Joaquin County in Stockton, Calif., will be featured in an interview with Katie Couric on 60 Minutes.
The segment focuses on two rapes that occurred in 2008 at the University of the Pacific (UOP). Gomez and the staff at her center have been strong voices for victims, vigilantly working with UOP leadership to improve sexual assault investigation and increase ongoing prevention programs on the campus. The interview will highlight the flaws in college campus sexual misconduct policies and the need for nationwide reform of these policies.
“When the Women’s Center was approached to be a part of this 60 Minutes segment, it meant a lot of thought before we engaged in that interview process,” Gomez told CALCASA. “The bottom line was: We have to be there to be the voice for victims. We are the advocates in the community. Although this is not unique to the University of the Pacific, we know that sexual assaults are occurring at an alarming rate across the nation. And if we have an opportunity to shed light — even though the university was not going to be pleased with our platform — it’s the right thing to do. We have a duty to stand by our mission, and that is to bring their voices to the forefront and to really instigate the change that is so needed.”
CALCASA encourages you to tune into to the segment this Sunday, April 17 at 6pm on CBS. After the segment airs, CALCASA will feature an interview conducted with Gomez about recommendations for rape crisis centers in forming partnerships with colleges and universities.