This week in the archives is stumbled onto an article about college programs and alcohol. This goes hand in hand with our readings Shifting the Paradigm: Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence written by the American College Health Association (ACHA), especially the sections on alcohol and sexual violence’s correlation. The reading went into great detail about the effects of alcohol, “Approximately 50-70% of all sexual assaults involve alcohol.”(ACHA, pg19, paragraph1). It is no wonder that RA programs in the past have aimed at creating functions that are not completely controlled by alcohol {Note Nov 16, 2012}. On the night of Freshman formal, a returning RA went as far as pouring shots of coca-cola at a late night meal to give freshman an alcohol-free post-dance late-night activity. On page 22 of our reading in the section labeled “sexual violence assessment tool”, #11 on this list is the ability to provide an alcohol free environment for students to have activities. Freshmen are not supposed to be drinking alcohol; they are underage, so the possibility of them making poor choices and not well thought out decisions can be high. The article quotes one freshmen student,’” ..the programs are a nice idea, but I think its hard to prevent people who have a set plan to deter them from what they’re going to do.”’  (Borger,third picture- sixth paragraph).

Our readings clearly state that, “the influence of alcohol on behavioral and judgment may increase misperceptions of sexual interest and lead to perpetrators ignoring refusal cues or victims disregarding risk cues.” (ACHA, pg19, parag2) . This is more likely for freshmen students, who are mostly inexperienced in life. In my opinion this may be double true for Emory students protected by the Emory bubble.

RA sponsored programs like this contributed to a lack of alcohol related emergencies at Emory’s Freshman Formal. This article states that, “for the first time in eight years there has been no student hospitalized due to alcohol related incidents during the freshman semi-formal.” (Borger, line1, picture1). On average about 4-5 students drink far too much and require medial attention.(Borger, paragraph2, line1, picture1).  This is more of an alcohol problem than a sexual violence problem, but as we know from the readings and the previous paragraph the two can often go hand in hand. These alcohol free recreational activities help change the norm of alcohol abuse that is common amongst freshman. Personally, I have never drunk more often than my freshman years. The norm of alcohol abuse can often lead to sexual abuse, so changing this early part of college culture is a big step in the right direction.

On page 20 of our readings, there are a few things listed about alcohol and sexual violence. The article I found in the archives gives an example of Emory’s history establishing a community to help explain and deal with alcohol and its use. The article also gives an example of young adults being educated on the subject of abuse. This shows me that it is possible to change the culture and environment of any school, and in order to make Emory safer we must continue to carry on a tradition of awareness, alertness, and responsibility.

In my last post I spoke about the lack of material that addressed male victims of sexual assault and rape. There was little to no mentioning in the toolkit of coping mechanisms for male victims, in fact, there was little that mentioned males as being victims of rape at all. The reality is that male victims of rape do exist and the discrimination and stigmatization society has against these victims may be the underpinning as to why the scientific community has turned a blind eye to their situations.
In 2011, it was recorded that 10% of all rape victims were male. Although this number may seem small, it is in no way insignificant. This number is probably grossly underestimated due to the fact that male victims are much less likely to report their assaults than their female counterparts. “Few male rapes appear in police files or other official records. Very few male rape victims report their assault to the police because they think that they will experience negative treatment, be disbelieved, or blamed for their assault” (Walker, Archer, and Davies, 495). I think that many of us feel that male rape only happens in the confines of prisons and military organizations, but the practice of men raping other men occurs around the world in a multitude of environments.
Although I am sure there are many theories behind this lack of reporting, I am going to address what I think is one of the most important factors that discourages male victims from reporting their abuse. “Previous research has suggested that gay and bisexual men are more at risk of rape than heterosexual men for two reasons. The first is that they are at risk of being raped by dates or while in relationships with men…The second reason that gay and bisexual men are more at risk is through homophobic sexual assaults” (Walker, Archer, and Davies, 495). I think the stigma that a vast majority of societies place on the homosexual community inhibits gay men from speaking out against their aggressors. I feel that this already extremely stigmatized community does not want to draw any negative attention to a major problem that has been plaguing it for years. The shame and humiliation that is felt after abuse can lead many victims to experience confusion, depression, and isolation from the community they originally associated themselves with.
The general public’s equation of rape with sex may bring on a shame attached to homosexuality. In a lecture given on prison sexuality it was said that, “The sexual penetration of another male prisoner by a man is sanctioned by the subculture, is considered a male rather than a homosexual activity, and is considered to validate the penetrator’s masculinity” (Scarce, 39). The sacred act of sex that homosexual men engage in with one another is therefore being stripped down for the raw purpose of prisoner’s justifying fulfilling their bodily needs. From a homosexual’s perspective, “Gay male victims may also experience problems with their sexual orientation. When behavior that is formerly associated with consensual sexual activity becomes associated with violence, gay men can experience difficulty in defining their sexuality in a positive way” (Walker, Archer, and Davies, 496). For what I am sure is a long and confusing process for homosexual men in establishing their sexual identity, adding rape into the equation is something I am sure few want to think about or deal with. Maybe the homosexual society feels that the lack of reporting is somehow protecting the inroads they have made on the general public in accepting them for their sexual orientation, and these inroads are something they are not willing to give up.

WORK CITED

Scarce, Michael. Male on Male Rape: The Hidden Toll of Stigma and Shame. New York: Insight, 1997. Print.

Walker, Jayne, John Archer, and Michelle Davies. “Effects of Rape on Men: A Descriptive Analysis.” Archives of Sexual Behavior 34.1 (2005): 69-80. Print.

During our class discussion with Lauren Bernstein yesterday, we had a very insightful discussion about the statistics of rape today at colleges across the United States. In addition to our discussion on this powerful subject matter, Bernstein informed us on her efforts here at Emory to provide support to victims through programs such as Respect.

Following this interesting discussion mainly pertaining to college campuses, I began pondering the larger picture of this issue. During our years in college, we are expected to gain knowledge, to increase efficiency and to learn how to juggle many aspects of life on our own. With all of this education going on, college campuses can be somewhat seen as controlled chaos. A place where students hustle and bustle to fit as much as possible in to one day, in one week and in four years, yet especially here at Emory, there are terms describing our campus as a bubble. Within this bubble sometimes, we as students fail to account for life and ways of thinking beyond the Emory campus. Therefore in these fundamental years, we should as students should walk away prepared for what lies ahead in life. This realization was partly sparked from a question that was directed to Bernstein about other instances of rape away from a college setting, and with this thought process in mind; I began researching for statistics pointing to where other instances of rape occur.

After a fairly simple search, I was led to the website An Abuse, Rape, and Domestic Violence Aid and Resource Collection (A.A.R.D.V.A.R.C.). This website combines various resources of information into one succinct location. On this site, data was provided from the Department of Justice Bureau. The table provides a series of tables based on criminal victimization in the United States from the year of 2005. Based on this data the majority of rapes occurred at the victim’s home, which was 36%. This was followed by 24% occurring at a friend, relative or neighbor’s home and 9% on a street other than near home.  Rapes occurring on school property were 8% of the data and a 3% total occurring at a common yard, park, field or playground. This information was then broken down into the activity of the victim at the time of the rape. In the order from highest to lowest, the activities were: leisure activity away from the home (29%), other activity at home (25%), sleeping (20%), working (11%), at school (5%), going to or from other place (4%), or going to or from school (3%) [1].

We can see from this data, which in all reality could be considered a bit out of date, there is certainly more of a risk for such instances to occur beyond the walls of Emory.  I would just like to urge my fellow classmates not to take for granted the safety that many of us are lucky to experience. I am not saying that we should walk around paranoid during our activities, but there should certainly be a level of awareness maintained. We have the fortunate experience of attending a close knit college, but as we explore beyond the limits of Emory and enter “real-life,” I hope that progress into a life of safety and happiness without having to experience such a tragedy as sexual violence.

[1] http://www.aardvarc.org/rape/about/statistics.shtml

Society, these days, is striated by a plethora of expectations and generalizations that are constructed through a process of following norms. Not bringing light to issues that are often overlooked further perpetuates this cycle and creates room for these stereotypes to grow in the future. This week, the readings were on a subject that is not often discussed and this is the rape of men.

When I hear the term rape, I naturally think about a woman being the victim and a man being the perpetrator. I think about different programs and educational campaigns outlining the risks of rape and tips for women to keep safe. When I leave home whenever I visit Los Angeles and my mom tells me to be careful, I immediately relate danger to potential gang activity during which I may be in the wrong place at the wrong time or even being in a car accident. In fact, if my father were to give me pepper spray to keep on me, I can’t say that I would not be offended. Walking down a dark street perhaps after a party, if I were to be behind a girl walking alone, I would make sure not to walk too close so she doesn’t feel I am following her because I know there are many women that would be bothered by a strange male walking behind them. All of these, I admit, are ways in which I think that have been influenced by societal norms.

In “Effects of Rape on Men: A Descriptive Analysis,” Walker and colleagues state “it is estimated that the help and support for male victims of rape is more than 20 years behind that of female victims.” This, to me, is because due to two things. For one, a man getting raped is not something that is expected, or rather a woman is seen as a more likely victim. On the other hand, a male victim is likely viewed as more able to cope with the psychological trauma of such an invasion.

It all comes down to the ideas of masculinity and femininity. The vulnerable and helpless qualities that are close-mindedly yet habitually attributed to women make it seem as though they would be the more likely victims. In addition to this, the overly masculinized image of a man has created almost a set of laws, governing what can and cannot be done to and by males that wish to call themselves masculine. In fact, sixty-eight percent of the participants in the Walker et al. study reported having problems with their sense of masculinity after the assault. One participant quoted “the assault was a threat to my male pride and dignity. It was a shock to find that a so-called ‘strong man’ could become a helpless victim of sexual assault at the hands of another man. My sense of who I was (ex-army) was destroyed for about 10 years.”

In general, we limit ourselves by allowing our opinions to interfere with our awareness. Personal feelings are no match for the prevalence of violence and discrimination across America and more.

In the article, ‘Re-visioning the Sexual Violence Continuum’ by Lydia Guy, our society is described as ‘rape culture’. ‘Rape culture’ is defined by the author as “complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women” (Guy 10). The author provides a diagram to show her realization that such continuum should include the whole feminism “to illustrate the concept of rape culture” (Guy 10). Since “successful primary prevention of sexual violence requires recognition of the problem” (American College Health Association 5), such diagram, which includes all possible causes of rape, should tell everyone how they are promoting rape culture and prevent sexual violence.

At first, ‘Sexist Jokes,’ ‘Rigid Gender Roles,’ and ‘Sexualized Media Depiction’ could seem a little far fetched, because of the commonness of the three concepts. The article did not mention any specific examples for these three or how they are parts of ‘rape culture’, but I see sexist ‘memes’ (such as ‘overly attached girlfriend meme’ jokes) quite regularly on my friends’ Facebook updates (sexist jokes), and know several married couples who rely on husbands’ income and wives’ housekeeping (gender roles), yet are still satisfied with their lives. Sexualized media depiction is pretty much everywhere these days, from advertisements like sexy beer commercials (below) to movies like 007’s with ‘Bond girls’ (the media depiction). Realizing how closely we are involved in the ‘rape culture’, I could not avoid asking myself, ‘am I promoting somebody to get raped by looking at these and not doing anything about it?’ ‘Are my friends and the couples I know making some women to get raped?’

These are open questions that are quite debatable, but what I realized was that, on the article’s diagram, these three ’causes’ of rape I mentioned are at least five steps away from rape. The distance between ‘Sexist Jokes,’ ‘Rigid Gender Roles’ and ‘Sexualized Media Depiction,’ and the actual rape is significant that it could be the reason why many of us are blinded in seeing the fact that the atmosphere created with such attitudes is creating the rape culture. This diagram not only includes everyone in the society, but also the fact why we have not realized the role of our culture on sexual violence.

To many people, evidences could be too limited to say that all ‘Sexist Jokes,’ ‘Rigid Gender Roles,’ and ‘Sexualized Media Depiction’ are connected to rape. Even if there are conclusive evidences, as the author says, changing these concepts that have been remaining in our culture for a long time, would make rape-prevention more difficult than many of us think. However as Lydia Guy wrote, “rape does not happen just because one individual chooses to rape another”, but “happens because there are attitudes and norms that allow it to happen” (Guy 10), we should be aware of the roles of the norms and stereotypes in sexual violence, so that we can be more knowledgeable in the relationship between our culture and rape. With more physical or just hypothetical but specific evidence, more people will be more actively preventing sexual crimes.

Works Cited

(1) Re-visioning the Sexual Violence Continuum by Lydia Guy, BA

(2) Shifting the Paradigm: Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence by American College Health Association

In an overview of a combined research study performed by Connell, Lorber, Martin and Risman, the authors of “Sexual Assault on Campus: A Multilevel, Integrative Approach to Party Rape,” propose a series of changes that should be taken to prevent sexual violence in the party scene (Armstrong et al. 481). While the proposed changes could be considered logical with respect to the data provided, the specific circumstances that arose at this “large midwestern university” should not automatically be applied to all schools and probably aren’t the most likely to encourage change. The authors suggest a more integrated approach to campus housing, they encourage more balanced policing of places where students can engage in under age drinking, and the promotion of more socially acceptable non-alcoholic activities (Armstrong et al. 489). Education, of both men and women, is a critical aspect of sexual violence prevention and should begin prior to the arrival of freshmen. As we have learned, often it is the sexual script in which “men… pursue sex and women… play the role of gatekeeper,” (Armstrong et al. 488) that promotes the sort of ignorant view that leads to women blaming themselves or believing there will be stigma associated with coming forward. The truth is that education is not the only approach to this problem that needs an update. When you read between the lines, the authors have a pretty negative opinion about the effect that fraternities currently have on sexual assault.

Here at Emory, we are already a step ahead. We have relatively integrated freshmen dorms. We take alcohol awareness classes and are given sexual assault information before arriving for orientation. Every year they update the data they want incoming freshmen to know because we have the resources to combat and react to these kinds of incidents. The fraternities, while certainly not monitored 100% of the time, are policed very heavily during the most party heavy time of the year and monitored consistently throughout the year, especially in comparison to my freshmen dorm. There are plenty of non-alcoholic events offered and often, people do actually show up to them. Yet, despite all of these significant differences, Emory still has it’s own problems.

In recent news, Emory has had a significant rise in reported incidences of sexual assault and rape (Skibell). These issues obviously have to be addressed. However, it is my belief that the proposed steps lack the specificity to be directly targeted toward the Emory environment. Those proposals are inherently blaming the Greek system. While starting in the Greek system is a fully acceptable way to promote change, targeting this portion of Emory is not going to stop the violence. As noted in the Wheel article, two of seven reported incidents occurred in fraternity housing. I would say ‘only two’, but that would make it seem as though I’m trying to transfer the blame.

Our Greek community includes many campus leaders who participate in sports, community service and student government. Yes, there have been two reported incidents in which Greek men have been accused of sexual assault. And yes, there are more to come, because women are starting to feel more comfortable coming forward. But the more accusations that are reported, the more we are going to see that these incidents are happening all over campus.

The problem as I see it, is in the process of education. Encouraging young women not to drink until they have no self control is a great idea. Keeping in mind that young men are probably drinking as much, if not more, than their female counterparts, encouraging men not to take advantage of women is also a great idea. The problem is, there’s no question. The definition of consensual is simply not promoted in any form between our peers.

According to Emory policy:

“Consent is an affirmative decision to engage in mutually acceptable sexual activity, and consent is given by clear actions or words. It is an informed decision made freely and actively by all parties. Consent may not be inferred from silence, passivity, or lack of active resistance alone (Campus Life).”

When a friend of mine told me he was being accused of rape, I asked, “did she say she wanted to have sex with you?” His response, “Nah, but she was going with it…” He’s a really nice guy and I would never think him capable of putting a girl through that, but it’s a pretty common story. Plenty of girl’s go out with the full intention of making out on a dance floor and then it just goes too far. It’s not okay and I’m not proposing they are at fault because someone took advantage of them.

In all honesty though, I didn’t really expect him to say yes. After this class, I just know that’s the only way he could have protected himself. In speaking with my peers, I have found the predominant response to the idea of direct consent is disdain. Frequently guys will laugh at the idea of asking and girls will admit no one’s ever asked them.

I believe this one point could change a lot. There might still be sexual violence, but I think changing the approach to consent could transform the dangers of the party scene.

Armstrong, Elizabeth A., Laura Hamilton and Brian Sweeney. Sex Matters: The Sexuality and Society Reader “Sexual Assault on Campus: A Multilevel Integrative Approach to Party Rape” 2006

Skibell, Arianna. The Emory Wheel. “Seven Rapes Reported Since August” November 5, 2012

Campus Life. Emory Healthcare Policies and Procedures. Policy 8.2 Sexual Misconduct. August 16, 2012

SORRY THOUGHT I POSTED THIS YESTERDAY!!!

Sexual violence against women became a fundamental issue for the new feminist movement that began in the late 1960s, and resulted in the emergence of an anti-rape movement in the United States.  The anti-rape movement was founded on two notions: first, the radical political insight that violence against women is a fundamental component of the social control of women, and second, that women should try to do something to turn victims into survivors (Matthews, xii). The movement started out as a result of the leftist counter culture that wanted increased action by the state and law enforcement.  Many feminists believed that the state was doing little to punish rapists and was focusing little effort on preventing and controlling rape from happening.

It almost seems like the movement emerged by placing blame on the government, not on the rapists themselves.  Feminists believed that remaining inactive was in fact more harmful than the abuse. Skepticism toward the state extended to “careful scrutiny of possible funding sources- early activists often refused money that required too close a relationship with suspect state agencies, particularly law enforcement” (Matthews, xii).  This is extremely ironic because now these groups are heavily reliant on state funding, as the anti-rape campaign has changed from a grassroots movement to a main concentration of professional social service employees.

Solely from the reading this week we can see the transformation that anti-rape awareness has underwent.  The American College Health Association has published an entire manual of how to deal with the issue of sexual violence- providing a prevention tool kit, efforts to spread awareness, and educational links.  It is interesting, though, that the packet is targeted toward a female audience and really only describes ways to prevent against male aggression.  Little is mentioned about males who are victims of sexual violence and how they should become educated or cope with being abused.

In comparison to females, male rape victims are underreported by a very large margin.  Approximately one in six boys is sexually abused in the United States before the age of 16.  This is not a small number that should go unaddressed.  It was just in January of this year that the federal government changed its definition of rape to include a wider range of sexual assaults.  National crime statistics on rape used to only include assaults against women and girls committed by men under a narrow set of circumstances, but now have been expanded to include male victims.  The CDC conducted a recent study that revealed that 1.4% of men in a national survey had been raped at one point in their life.  This number was heighted from historic numbers due to the fact that the CDC expanded its definition of rape to include oral and anal penetration (Rabin).  For men, the subject of rape is harder to discuss because there are few males that have spoken out and have created the image of being a “survivor”.  Society needs to acknowledge that rape is not just confined to females but also affects the male portion of the population.

WORK CITED

Matthews, Nancy. Confronting Rape: The Feminist Anti-Rape Movement and the State. London: Routledge, 1994. Print.

Rabin, Roni. “Men Struggle for Rape Awareness.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2012. .

Emory Report: June 8, 2009

How does our legislation affect an epidemic such as HIV AIDS? Do our voice and votes count towards the spread of this disease or is elimination? I found an interesting article in the Emory Report from 2009 that opened up these questions and further explained how gay marriage bans are linked to the rise in HIV.

Still a hot topic today as in 2009 is the legislative right for gay marriage. [1] Gay marriage has indeed made great strides and as of early November 2012 a total of nine states have approved same sex marriage. Federal law still does not recognize same sex marriage however; steps are being taken to recognize gay marriage. So how can we link marriage to HIV? This article in the Emory Report proposed [2] “A constitutional ban on gay marriage raises the [transmission] rate by four cases per 100,000 people.” So, if the data is clear in that same sex marriage leads to fewer cases of HIV then why won’t legislation make greater strides to grant marriage to gay couples? Understandably, this would mean radical changes to the constitution and it will open up doors for other groups that want change and further still; the deconstruction and reconstruction of our government and nation. How would this tweak in the constitution affect us in the long run?

These economists from Emory have found data that link an epidemic to law making and economics. In what other ways does HIV affect our lives? If we look at condom purchases since the epidemic broke in the United States in 1981, I am sure that we will find a significant increase in the total number of condoms bought. Not only do condoms bring in money to our economy but so do lubrication, and sex toys (for those of us who would rather play it safe). There is huge research being done for better condoms and sex toys for more protection and pleasure. HIV has the potential to improve our economy in these ways. Does federal legislation hold back on change for these reasons? Or as I mentioned before, is it more a matter of what is to come if the constitution is altered?

If legislation does decide to grant same sex marriage in all states and federally then, will the number of cases of HIV go down? Will we begin to see an end to this epidemic if couples become less promiscuous and commit to marriage? With regular doctor visits and safe sex practices is this all we need to accomplish to see an end to AIDS? For the individuals affected with HIV through drug use, what can we do to eliminate AIDS in this way? Significant research is being done here at Emory and around the world to find the cure that can once and for all end AIDS but until then, will measures such as same sex marriage and safe sex practices better protect the population from AIDS?

[2] “Intolerance is deadly. Bans on gay marriage codify intolerance, causing more                    gay people to shift to underground sexual behaviors that carry more risk.”

[1] “Nov. 8 2012: States.” Freedomtomarry.org. Freedomtomarry, 2003. Web. 19 Nov. 2012.

[2] Carol Clark. “Gay marriage bans lined to rise in HIV.” Emory Report 8 June, 2009. Print.

In this past week’s reading entitled “Shifting the Paradigm: Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence,” the American College Health Association (ACHA) created a “toolkit” that spoke about ways to help prevent sexual violence from occurring. One particular section of the toolkit seemed of particular interest to me which dealt with “10 Ways Young Men Can Prevent Sexual Violence” [1].  This section became a strong focus for me considering that I am a man; and I am one who has seen the effects of sexual violence, and the trauma it can inflict on someone.

Incidentally, the Atlanta Journal Constitution published an article on November 18, 2012, called “Sexual Assaults on College Campuses a Problem Nationwide.”  The article was primarily in response to the Emory event “Take Back the Night.” In the article, Laura Diamond and Bo Emerson reported that there have been at least seven rapes this fall semester [2].

Looking back to the ACHA toolkit, the 10 things a man can do to help prevent such incidents were listed as the following:

1. Define your own manhood.
2. Take it over.
3. Understand the ability to consent.
4. Get a woman’s perspective.
5. Ask guys.
6. Be aware of pop culture’s messages.
7. Choose words carefully.
8. Speak out.
9. Get involved.
10. Show your strength. [1].

Initially looking at this, it seems to be a pretty comprehensive list, and one that I could agree with being potentially useful, but after a couple months of delving into observing sexuality more, there are a few points I would like to draw attention to, particularly, numbers 1 and 10 – define your own manhood and show your own strength.

As a heterosexual male that aligns my gender identity along the “norms” of society, there does not seem to be any difficulty for me relating to this, but like I said previously, this class has added a new perspective when observing these two. Now, I can understand that this toolkit is more than likely aiming to target heterosexual people. What if I were a biological male who wanted to help prevent rape but I identify more as a female though? This seems to be a bit more difficult to comprehend at that point. OK, so I am a third party providing what possibly could be considered an overly critical point, but nonetheless, point number 6 says I should be aware of pop culture messages. This may seem a bit extreme, but what if this toolkit went viral, and I were the later  person that I described? There would certainly be an expectation set upon me as a guy to make sure I defined my manhood. Since this is a blog post and maybe there are some readers out there who do not know who I am, they would say who cares; it is not that big of a deal. But in reality there is a certain expectation of masculinity that goes along with someone of my stature, and I feel this would be particularly unfair to someone who may be more feminine than myself yet is built similarly to me. This of course directly ties into point number 10, showing your strength.

The toolkit says, “Don’t ever have sex with anyone against their will. Make a pledge to be a man whose strength is used for respect, not hurting.” Again, a well-written and intended statement, but in this case it is not what is said, it is what lies underneath the statement. In number 10, this is assuming some form of agency is to be taken by a person. I realize I am potentially speaking about a very extreme case that may only apply to a small amount of people, but it is those few people who are the ones that often go over looked. So again, here could potentially lay another issue for a guy whom is above average in size. This statement also indirectly implies that I would be using my strength at all. The way in which the toolkit is laid out, “a man whose strength is used for respect” would insinuate that my strength is used almost as some form of protector.

As I said before, I realize I am being a bit over critical here, but I have experienced certain challenges being associated with having to maintain a level of masculinity and expectations merely because of my size. Have I completely minded these challenges? No. I have grown to embrace some of them, but I understand this may not be the case for every person. Therefore, it could create issues for other young men as they grow, develop and search to find themselves. Overall, I believe the toolkit to be something that everyone should read, even if is not flawless of every politically correct issue. I have had close friends who have been raped and even girlfriends who have been raped in the past, and if I had read this prior to being exposed to these instances with them, I certainly would have felt more prepared on how to handle it. For those who only skimmed through ACHA reading, go back and read it again because these situations are always closer than you may think.

[1] https://classes.emory.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-1642099-dt-content-rid-262289_2/courses/FA12_AMST_385_DTROKA_Combined/ACHA_PSV_toolkit.pdf

[2] http://www.ajc.com/news/news/sexual-assaults-on-college-campuses-a-problem-nati/nS8TT/

The American College Health Association (ACHA) does see sexual violence as a serious issue on university campuses [1]. Prevention is key, and there are different levels of prevention. University campuses across the nation need to made these issues of sexual violence well known amongst all students so they can take the necessary precautions. It all starts with primary prevention, which is population based using broader environmental and system level strategies to attempt to prevent initial sexual violence before it gets worse. Faculty, staff, administrators, and students must play a key role in creating this ideal environment on campus [1].

At Emory, people have definitely began trying to prevent sexual violence for a long time. In 1984, the Training Center and Hospital Educations decides to take action and held a self defense program teaching techniques and scenarios involving rapists, purse snatchers, obscene telephone callers and more. This program was set in hopes of changing a national attitude toward crime from one of fear to rational assessment of a crime situation. During this time period, people are aware of crime going on and take precautionary measures to deal with the situation at hand. In 2002, as stated in the Emory Report, members of the President’s Commission on the Status of Women review sexual harassment policy at Emory. The shift towards prevention is definitely taking place.
In the Emory Wheel on October 7, 2005, it is stated that Emory sees a 9.5% drop in crime rate. But forcible sex charge had almost a 0% change in crime rate. Sexual violence still occurs everyday. In 2005, a rape survivor shares her story. Kelly is a 24 year old women who teaches first grade and was raped by a 18 year old rape her. She said that she “would never have a sense of normalcy again… and [her] world had crashed around [her]”. The effects that the victims go through hurt their whole outlook on life. To acknowledge this incident, there was a self-defence clinic event at Emory and different-colored shirts were hung on a clothesline in front of Candler Library, which symbolized difference forms of sexual assault. It’s good that Emory at least makes everyone aware of what could happen and teaches people how to prevent such incidences.
Alongside of this prevention with sexual violence, in 2005 lawmakers crack down on virtual sex, violence. It seems that certain video games specifically “Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” has a hidden sex game where a player can press a command over and over while two virtual characters go at it. Even other games that have been considered to being safe and kid friendly such as “The Sims 2” has also come under fire for sexual content. It seems like these sexual references are everywhere in the world and they can maybe encourage such behaviors and actions and make it seem ok.
It seems like references to sexual violence is everywhere but it’s good to know that at least Emory has been trying to implement programs in order to spread awareness of the crime that goes on and provides solutions to prevent them.

[1] Shifting the Paradigm: Primary Prevention of Sexual Violence