Every 98 seconds, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted. This month, the Daily Times Herald in Carroll, Iowa is showing a side of sexual assault not often seen.

The project “Every 98 Seconds” features 13 western Iowa residents who are either victims of sexual assault or are parents of children who have been assaulted, according to a news release sent April 17.

The project is the third of its kind from Daily Times Herald reporter Rebecca McKinsey and photographer Jacob Fiscus, owner of Photography by Fiscus studio in Carroll. The two shared an interest in telling stories about sexual assault with a focus on their communities.

“There’s so much talk nationwide [about sexual assault], you don’t hear the rural side of it,” said McKinsey, who talked about how the lack of resources available and lack of belief for victims keep those stories from being told.

The series features the stories of 13 residents, ranging from a 13-year old girl and 17-year-old boy to a 53-year-old woman, and events included the stories of three parents whose children were survivors. While the main focus was on survivors, McKinsey and Fiscus wanted to also highlight what those ‘secondary survivors’ go through, and what parents should keep in mind if they are affected by assault in this way.

In addition to interviews with the survivors and written stories, the photographs that accompany each story are taken in a way that shows the survivors personality and story without revealing their identity entirely. Survivors were photographed behind a sheet of glass so as not to show who they were, but to be able to show their story in how they were posed.

McKinsey said that one girl’s assault had been really recent, so she posed with her hands covering her face, and another photograph had a woman and child with their hands on the glass, so ‘you could see the smaller hand and bigger hand together.’

“These are your neighbors, these are your friends,” McKinsey said. “This is in rural Iowa.”

The photos and interview in “Every 98 Seconds” will be featured in an open house at Photography by Fiscus studio on April 26 and 27. The projects can also be viewed online at www.thefacesofiowa.com.