Sharing an article on Campus Sexual assault

 

I believe we all look forward to the day when a sexual assault is a complete anomaly and not the norm. In the meantime, I will count it as positive that the conversation is still going strong and that people are talking about being ‘proactive’ rather than having to ‘react’ to situations. We need to do more than give women instructions on how to stay safe in situations, we need to foster a culture where young men think the idea of assault is abhorrent and recognize what is consensual and what is not.

“Beyond Rape Prevention”

BOSTON -- Here's one variation on a common scenario: A student wakes up in the middle of the night to find that her roommate has crawled into her bed and is groping her. Afraid that if she resists, he might act out and even rape her, she has sex with him.

What makes the scenario common? The fact that the woman didn't want to have sex, but still describes it as consensual. This makes it the sort of case -- like so many that unfold on campuses -- that could never be prosecuted in a student judicial system.

"I do not want to teach our students to consent, I want to teach our students to hold out for that really mutually desired moment," Melanie Boyd, a scholar on gender issues and assistant dean of student affairs at Yale University, said here Friday at the annual meeting of the American College Health Association. Boyd shared several stories of students who grudgingly accepted sexual advances because it was "easier than not" or they "wanted to be a good girlfriend" or "didn't want to be the ones who refused" -- but still considered the sex consensual.

Read more the rest: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/06/05/yale-program-shift-sexual-assault-culture-goes-beyond-rape-prevention

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam