A sexual assault panel will educate students this week on preventing sexual assault directed at themselves and those they care about.
Members of the Knoxville community and the university will explore the trauma of sexual assault in a panel setting. Attendees will hear the stories of sexual offenders and learn preventative measures that can be taken.
Students initiated and planned the event based on their fervor for raising awareness.
“This panel has been completely organized by a group of very passionate women and one man,” Michelle Muldoon, senior in women’s studies and panel organizer, said. “We got to talking about the ways that people usually discuss sexual assault prevention. The focus is usually placed on the victim.”
Muldoon said college women are more at risk for sexual assault than most.
“One in six women and one in 33 men will be sexually assaulted during their lifetimes,” she said. “For women on a college campus, however, the risk quadruples.”
Organizers are taking an unconventional approach in handling this weighty issue.
“Tips to avoid assault generally include things like not walking alone at night, being aware of your surroundings and avoiding shortcuts through dark or unpopulated areas,” Muldoon said. “It seemed to us that these sort of prevention tips are clearly not working.”
This new approach employs a broader scope, said Ashley Kite-Rowland, another event organizer.
“It is time to reframe sexual violence, to have awareness and prevention programs that address all people regardless of gender, because sexual violence is a community issue, a social problem,” she said.
One of the program’s chief aims is to remove negative stereotypes associated with victims of sexual assault, often females.
“The idea here is to get the word out that it is not a woman’s fault if she is raped or an act of sexual violence is committed against her regardless of the fact that she was alone, what she was wearing, or how much she had to drink,” Taylor E. Krcek, graduate assistant in the College of Social Work, said. “Men should be encouraged to take responsibility for their actions and take a vital role in the prevention of sexual assault.”
Facilitators hope to raise awareness of men’s responsibilities in these unfortunate situations.
“We think that it’s time we bring men into the discussion and into the fight against sexual assault,” Muldoon said. “Why is it that women are expected to bear 100 percent of this burden? Many of the suggestions require that women curtail their everyday activities for fear of being attacked. In many cases, even if a woman wants to abide by these ‘tips,’ she is unable to.”
The discussion’s purpose is to widen the scope of responsibility associated with sexual assault.
“Our goal is to educate everyone about sexual assault, in hopes that if we all work together, we can make assault a thing of the past,” Muldoon said. “We have introduced a White Ribbon Campaign, where students pledge not to commit, condone or remain silent about sexual assault.”
Resolved members of UT and the surrounding community are anticipating strong student support for their aspirations of a calm campus environment.
“I hope that students will come out on Thursday to not only learn about the realities of sexual assault but also to come away with a sense of what each person can do to make our campus a safer place for everyone,” Muldoon said.
The discussion will feature four facilitators. Two are UT professors, and two are workers at Safe Haven, a sexual assault victim’s advocacy organization.
The panel will include: Lo Presser, associate professor of sociology at UT, Jane Peoples, executive director of Safe Haven Crisis and Recovery Center for Sexual Assault, Amy Rowling, education coordinator of Safe Haven Crisis and Recover Center for Sexual Assault and Becky Bolen, associate professor from the UT College of Social Work.
Organizers hope that students will share their enthusiasm for change.
“We all hold the power to stop sexual assault,” Muldoon said. “Break the silence; stop the violence.”
This discussion will take place on Thursday at 6 p.m. in the Baker Center’s Toyota Auditorium.
