It’s fall term at the University of Oregon, and we are in “the red zone,” that time of the year when student health professionals say that young women are most susceptible to
sexual assault.
The assertion was supported last year by a study published in the Journal of American College Health, but even without data the logic checks out: In a new environment, with new social circles and a sudden abundance of substances to use and abuse, freshman women are especially susceptible to sexual violence, especially during the first few months of school.
To combat the inevitable spike in assaults during the early weeks of freshman year, university health centers and orientation staff arm women with the common list of tips for preventing rape: Watch your drink. Stay in well-lit areas. Be assertive. The
Oregon State University Health Services Web site, for example, advises women to “take a class in self-defense,” but that “the best defense is not to drink.”
By this point we all know, whether we are noobs or veterans, that we shouldn’t walk alone at night or accept drinks from Roman Polanski. If, as the Department of Justice reports, between 20 and 25 percent of female college students are victims of completed or attempted rape during their college careers, it’s not because nobody told us to be afraid.
It would be nice if our freshman women weren’t held solely responsible for protecting themselves — if they could feel safe in our community even if, like so many other Oregon students, they enjoy PBR but don’t have time to learn martial arts.
This is why the University is lucky to have the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team (SWAT), a group of sexual assault and dating violence prevention activists who use performance art to promote sexual health in a way that holds all sides accountable for preventing assault.
The student organization, which holds workshops for incoming freshmen, Greek Life and other campus groups, is particularly focused on “bystander intervention” — the idea that the peers of potential victims and potential assailants (we are all both) have a responsibility to step in when they see a violent, non-consensual event unfolding.
“If you feel that a situation isn’t right, you can say something,” SWAT member Eric Lake said. “You should.”
For Lake, bystander intervention extends beyond the moment of crisis and should be applied to the commonplace attitudes that encourage violence against women.
“I don’t agree when I hear sexist, violent comments between men,” Lake said. “In my experience, a lot of other men feel the same way. They should just ‘man up’ and say something.”
SWAT workshops also focus on the act of asking for, giving, and refusing consent, defined as “a yes freely given when the option of no is present and viable.” Lake added that consent is a “moment-by-moment process” that should be practiced at every elevation of sexual interaction.
“If you’re constantly asking, ‘Is this what you want?’ you will have better sex,” Lake said.
Amen.
If Lake’s advice isn’t enough incentive to memorize the phrases “Do you want to?” and “Can I?” consider this: In June, the Oregon Legislature passed an amendment to the state’s rape laws removing a distinction that exempted assailants from first degree rape charges when the victim was willingly under the influence of alcohol. Just because she (or he, for that matter) was too inebriated to say no or recall all of those practiced self-defense moves, doesn’t mean you aren’t a rapist.
Party hard, but be an inquisitive drunk.
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Party hard, party smart
Daily Emerald
October 7, 2009
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