Q&A with Alicia Oeser
Harvard President Drew Faust recently announced that new resources would be allocated to bolster the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response (OSAPR), which was created in 2003. The Harvard Gazette sat down with the office’s new director, Alicia Oeser, to discuss the dual mission of providing support services to those who have experienced sexual assault and offering education and outreach programs to decrease the incidence of sexual assault on campus. Oeser also helps staff the recently created Task Force on the Prevention of Sexual Violence. GAZETTE: Can you describe the office’s mission? OESER: OSAPR has a dual mission. The primary focus is responding to survivors, anyone who has already experienced a sexual assault, who has been in an abusive relationship, experienced stalking, harassment, anything that falls under that umbrella. We offer immediate crisis counseling; short term, one-on-one conversations where we check in with someone and hopefully get them through their roughest...