Let’s talk about sex — consensual sex, that is.
As a song about that well-known three-letter word played in the background, interns from the University’s Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team informed an audience of more than 20 people in the EMU Ben Linder Room on Wednesday night that the best defense against sexual assault isn’t violence. It’s not even abstinence.
It’s words.
The group reached out to the crowd with activities, an open forum on sexual stereotypes and a recorded account of a sexual assault victim’s story, all aimed at opening up lines of communication about when sex is OK — and when it isn’t.
The session is part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week activities and focuses on ways of ending sexual assault. This was the first SWAT presentation to the University, though they are hoping to make presentations to residence halls and the Greek community.
The team came to the University in the fall as the brainchild of the Office of Student Life and the ASUO Women’s Center.
Intern advisor Jennifer Smith took on the project in January after working at a domestic violence shelter as an advocate for women. She and her team of six interns — five women and one man — wanted to boost safety on campus.
“We needed intern education on campus with a message of healthy sexual communication,” she said.
Posters with definitions of sexual assault, rape, consent and other sex-related terms were displayed across the room during the session. The walls were also decked with continuums of misconceptions about sex and people “asking for it.” The audience was then asked to mark on the charts where they thought media, school, parents and friends stood on these issues.
“I think it was good they focused on consent and power struggles,” audience member Claty Ansell said.
Crew members representing different years in school and both genders helped reach a broader audience.
The group debunked assumptions that a woman is saying “yes” by her words, deeds or appearance.
“Just because they haven’t said ‘no’ doesn’t mean they’ve said ‘yes,’” SWAT intern Michelle Flanigan said.
They also offered insight on how to have healthier sexual communications, legal resources for sexual assault survivors, how to report the incident to the police, how to support survivors and where to get medical care after an assault.
“I want to do whatever I can to help bring a male perspective and to show how men can get involved in ending sexual assault,” senior intern John Fillmore said.
Although the team recognizes sexual assault occurs in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships, the talk focused on heterosexual situations where the woman is the victim, since statistics have shown that 90 percent of sexual assault survivors are female.
Fillmore said that the point of the session was not “male-bashing,” but to find ways to improve healthy communication with both partners in a relationship.
He said he took up the cause after having other positive leadership experiences and after learning about sexual assaults on campus, many of which go unreported.
In closing, the team — armed only with words — left the crowd with phrases reminding them of boundaries.
“No means no,” Fillmore said, “even if you’re naked.”
E-mail reporter Robin Weber
at [email protected].