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Content warning: this article contains mentions of sexual assault.

Hannah Chamberlin, a member of the partnership success team at Leda Health, started meeting with the Delta Gamma Fraternity over a year ago, first speaking with Delta Gamma at the National Panhellenic Conference. Members of the fraternity felt there was a lack of support for sexual assault prevention and Leda Health had the resources to help.

“This is a huge step for a national level organization to provide additional resources in the sexual assault prevention care response space as it’s allowing 18,000 students, most who identify as young women, additional resources when it comes to their health and well-being, so I think it’s a great step and hope it can lead to a great positive impact,” Chamberlin said.

Leda Health, a healthcare technology startup specializing in care for sexual assault survivors, has partnered with the national Delta Gamma Fraternity for the 2023-24 academic year. The partnership, announced in October, aims to provide resources and support related to sexual assault prevention and response to members, according to the press release.

Leda Health was founded in 2019 by CEO Madison Campbell, a survivor of sexual assault herself. The company’s goal is to increase autonomy and a sense of self-agency for survivors.

Sean Bogle, chief operating officer for Leda Health, said Leda Health isn’t meant to take the place of campus resources but serve as a bridge to campus resources that are already in place.

Delta Gamma’s 150 chapters – including Syracuse University’s – now have access to a Leda Health’s user portal, which is customized to each campus and includes educational resources for Title IX rights, mental health care and bystander training. Leda Health also provides access to third-party entities that provide resources like at-home toxicology kits and Plan B One-Step.

“In having those resources, having that information and awareness and creating a higher level of self-empowerment, it hopefully reduces that amount of sexual assault,” Bogle said. “Those who have a greater sense of awareness of what causes or what would be defined as sexual assault are in a better position to create self-autonomy and self-agency around it, I believe.”

A 2017 study found that up to 25% of female college students reported being victims of campus sexual assault, according to the American Psychological Association.

The Leda Health user portal also provides access to information about sexually transmitted diseases and mental health. Users can see information on how to identify if a person has been drugged, 24/7 hotline phone numbers and seven hours of pre-recorded educational programming, Chamberlin said.

Kate Welder, a senior and president of the SU chapter of the Delta Gamma Fraternity, said even in a tight-knit sorority, many sisters may not feel comfortable coming forward about their experiences but hopes Leda Health’s resources will support them.

“They don’t want to make it someone else’s burden, so I’m hoping especially that Leda will be a very good, confidential place to provide resources to girls that are dealing with things that maybe they don’t want anyone to know about,” Welder said.

Bogle said he uploaded the portal’s educational programs to include case studies talking about scenarios that happen on college campuses — particularly concerning sexual harassment, stalking and sexual assault in Greek life.

A 2009 study found that the rate of sexual assault reports was four times higher for sorority members than non-sorority members, with 29% of sorority members reporting being sexually assaulted and 7% of non-sorority members reporting assaults.

“It’s important to be a good sorority sister or fraternity brother and not just hold each other accountable for our behavior, but also indicate the appropriate response and putting that individual’s needs ahead of the image of the Greek organization,” Bogle said.

SU offers confidential on-campus resources, including counselors trained in supporting sexual violence survivors through the Barnes Center at the Arch’s Counseling and Sexual and Relationship Violence Response Team. The university also provides assistance with reporting sexual assault and recommends resources such as SU’s Department of Public Safety and the Student Title IX office.

Welder said not everyone wants to go to their institution for help and that university-provided resources can sometimes be intimidating. She believes having an outside resource like Leda Health will be beneficial to her sisters.

“The whole purpose of a sisterhood is to be looking out for each other and sexual assault is something that occurs on college campuses often and it’s kind of our obligation as a sisterhood to provide help to sisters when dealing with things, especially like this,” Welder said.

Published on November 5, 2023 at 11:36 pm

Contact Katie: ksmcclel@syr.edu | @katie_mcclellan