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When Project Callisto announced its imminent closing on Sept. 25, citing financial struggles, Carla Guariglia was devastated.

Guariglia, a 2024 graduate of Syracuse University and former campus ambassador for Callisto, first encountered Callisto at a Be With Survivors SU demonstration in 2022 as a sophomore.

Guariglia, the founder of BWSSU, decided to work together with the ambassador to intertwine their organization with Callisto, a nonprofit organization that allows survivors to anonymously document sexual assault on college campuses. Callisto established its SU chapter in 2020.

Though their time as campus ambassador is over, Guariglia said they’re concerned about how its closing will impact sexual violence survivors at SU.

“It was really important to keep Callisto on campus,” Guariglia said. “That’s the reality of it. You need campus ambassadors to continue the work.”

The app, founded in 2011, is available on all college campuses and uses an encrypted site, Callisto Vault, to document assault cases and flag when multiple users report the same perpetrator, without requiring users to formally report or publicly come forward, according to its website. If a user reports a repeat offender, Callisto offers them free and confidential Legal Options Counselor who will explain their options and help facilitate action.

In Callisto’s initial announcement, the organization asked for a “major donor” or other organization to partner with the project and keep its technology alive. Since the announcement, the organization has received a rush of support online and began a campaign to raise $1 million so it can remain open for the next year, according to its website.

Courtesy of Carla Guariglia

Project Callisto ambassadors participate in “Denim Day,” a Sexual Assault Prevention Month campaign. The initiative aims to dispel misconceptions about survivors of sexual assault.

In November 2020, former Student Association President Justine Hastings pushed to bring Callisto to campus. Establishing the app on campus was one of her and former Vice President Ryan Golden’s campaign promises when they ran for their positions. This year, Callisto does not have an ambassador on SU’s campus, Callisto CEO Tracy DeTomasi said.

DeTomasi called its potential closing a “perfect storm,” saying multiple factors contributed to the current situation, like the COVID-19 pandemic, its founder stepping down and other financial difficulties.

Because of its encrypted platform, Callisto doesn’t have access to users’ personal data, DeTomasi said. Consequently, the organization cannot apply for certain grants that require evidence of its success.

Since its launch across all college campuses in 2023, Callisto saw a 102% increase in accounts created, DeTomasi said. She said 6% of its users are matched with other survivors and connected with legal resources.

Callisto’s second tool, the incident log, allows users to document incidents as they decide to pursue next steps in the reporting process. The tool can assist survivors in processing their trauma and serve as a reference for victims to share with law enforcement, therapists, attorneys and friends, according to its website.

“That’s the unique thing about Callisto, if we have the opportunity to continue and to bring more awareness to this tool, more and more perpetrators will be held accountable,” DeTomasi said.

Guariglia said during their time with Callisto, they helped organize numerous artistic events on campus, such as a Denim Day photoshoot for survivors and a love letter writing event. The ambassadors took a “community, art-based approach” to advocate for the platform and help empower survivors, they said.

Guariglia also acted as SA’s director of mental health advocacy, where they worked to cement Callisto’s partnership with the university. They said achieving support from SA helped the organization gain recognition and respect from SU administrators.

In March 2023, SA passed a bill to continue its partnership with the university and keep Callisto on campus.

Yasmin Nayrouz, former SA vice president, said SA decided to renew Callisto to give students multiple options and ways of reporting sexual assaults. She said it gave survivors the choice to choose what feels most comfortable to them.

“College campuses are unfortunately a location where there are multiple instances of sexual violence that happen, so having this resource available on a college campus is crucial,” Nayrouz said.

DeTomasi said she and Callisto’s team are hopeful about the project’s future, and ultimately want to do the right thing for survivors and keep its resources available. She doesn’t want to “push the funding cliff” to only delay an imminent closure.

“We are changing systems, and that takes time,” DeTomasi said. “There are factors at play fighting against us all the time, but we’re going to keep fighting.”

Published on October 17, 2024 at 2:46 am

Contact Delia: dsrangel@syr.edu