 "Photo: Robert Djakovic / Staff Photographer")
For weeks, she kept dreaming about her death. Then, one night, with a gun pointed to her head, Jessi LaCosta thought it was going to happen.
LaCosta, who is now a communications and personal development coach, was only 16 years old when she was sexually assaulted one evening after leaving the shoe store she worked at in Baltimore.
She told her story of survival to students during a workshop titled "Engage, Ignite, Empowered: Are you Ready?" yesterday afternoon in Casa Real as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
LaCosta said she helps people to move past obstacles and works with individuals to manifest their own talents in life.
"I've certainly had my fair share of crises," LaCosta said. "A lot of people have had their crises, and there are wonderful ways to get past them. Mine was communications and still is, and one of my strengths is storytelling."
LaCosta said she credits talking, thinking, analyzing and showing compassion as the tools that got her out of her sexual assault experience alive. The man who held a gun to her head and told her to drive around town eventually let her go, gave back her money and asked her for $5 to buy a burger and cigarettes.
"I don't hate the man that abducted me," LaCosta said. "I never have."
She said every interaction with someone creates meaning, and finding strength helped her overcome the trauma.
Women's studies professor Esther Rothblum said these open dialogues about sexual assault are important because people need to be aware of how prevalent sexual violence against women is.
There were four forcible sex offenses and one non-forcible sex offense reported on campus in 2005, according to the most recent SDSU Police Department Safety and Security report, released in 2006. Rape is one of the most underreported crimes in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"It really is quite frequent, and that means that many students here have already gone through experiences of sexual violence," Rothblum said. "Even if they haven't, (their) friends and roommates have, or they may likely experience it in the future."
Rothblum said there are also many misconceptions about sexual assault. She said some people may think rape, for example, is just forced sexual intercourse, but it can also include oral, anal and the threat of sex.
"If someone points a knife at you and threatens you with sex, that may still meet the legal definition of rape in most U.S. states," Rothblum said. "It can be just as traumatizing as sexual contact with many of the same physical and psychological consequences."
While a portion of the talk focused on overcoming sexual assault, LaCosta also emphasized the overall importance of good communication and discovering one's "authentic self." She said exploration, self-actualization and acceptance are important and will often reveal the truth about one's self.
"When we don't know the things we're not, we don't know where we're going," LaCosta said.
Civil engineering sophomore Sara Toma, who attended the workshop for her Women's Studies 325 "Psychology of Women" class, said LaCosta's speech and workshop activities were helpful.
"She's not 'all about me,'" Toma said of LaCosta. "She's very 'How can I help you?'"
Toma said she did not go into the event with any expectations but came out learning how to be a good communicator. Toma asked LaCosta about ways to communicate better with family members.
"You can say you want to be a good communicator, but you can't unless you do it," Toma said.
Be the first to comment on this article!