Author Archives: Darci

Two Words: Rape. Culture.

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The words “Rape Culture” are often scoffed at in society and categorized as just a radical viewpoint of feminists. But I’d like to disprove that it is a radical viewpoint and also just note that feminists do not hate men. So as you read, please disembark any negative thoughts you may have about feminism and keep your mind open to the fact that we do, indeed, live in a rape culture.

Rape culture describes a culture in which sexual violence is common and the attitudes, norms, practices, and media condone, normalize, excuse, and/or tolerate sexual violence. It is hard to argue that this does not happen in our society here in the United States. Look at rap music. Look at movies such as The Girl with Dragon Tattoo and the American classic, Forrest Gump. Remember the riots and support for Joe Paterno at Penn State at the end of last year. Look at most advertisements that objectify women. The list can go on.

We have normalized the idea that women are not worth dignity and respect. We have accepted that women’s rights are violated and well, that’s just the way it is. We do not get angry when we see photos of women being objectified, disrespected, or assaulted. We do not believe victims of sexual assault, instead, we victim blame due to how much she drank, the clothes she was wearing, the bar she was at, or who her group of friends are.

…That is why when I saw this photo, originally posted at Feministe, I was immediately angry because I know that most people who see it laugh. The owners that put it up probably did it as a joke. I didn’t laugh and I don’t think it’s worthy of “joke status.”

This is the sign on the bathroom door at Heeeey Saxby’s Coffee in Washington D.C. There is no violence in this photo. There is no contact in this photo. But this photo alludes to the fact that women do not deserve respect nor dignity. If they do not deserve it, then sexually assaulting them shouldn’t be a problem. Rape. Culture.

I am engulfed in the work of trying to prevent and one day eradicate sexual violence. Every day I am faced with people pushing back on my passion and brushing off the issue as if it is not a big deal. IT IS A BIG DEAL. Until we can get angry about pictures like this. Until we can start recognizing that women DO deserve respect and to be treated with dignity. Until we can use our consumer power(s) to disable profitable entities from contributing to the rape culture. Until women are no longer objectified, violated, oppressed, isolated, and assaulted. It is not until all of these things are accomplished that we will end rape culture. So until then, pictures like this are a big deal…not a laughing matter.

Leasons Learned Admist a Tragedy at Penn State

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It is difficult to open up any newspaper, news website, or blog related to sexual violence that does not bombard you with Joe Paterno headlines and allegations against Sandusky. Indeed, Penn State has flooded America and left a rumbling of emotion and opinion. I have followed this case closely in the media for the mere purpose of listening to what the media is telling the public. Certainly, this is all anyone knows — including the Penn State community — what the media is saying is what the public knows. The truth about what really happened is in the hands of our court system and we must place faith in that. It is not our role to determine guilt or innocence. With than being said, I am amidst the millions that share outrage and sadness in the aftermath of the disclosure of this tragedy. I believe we can all walk away with valuable lessons from the Penn State “scandal.” I want to touch upon these lessons briefly.

First, I believe Dr. Yvonna K. Fulbright, a writer for the Huffington Post said it best when she wrote,

“If you’re not a Penn Stater, don’t judge. Sadly, you need to do no more than look in your own backyard to find that the same wrongs are being committed against other children. According to the National Resource Council, at least 20-24% of the U.S. population has been sexually abused. It’s an issue affecting every community, and more needs to be done about it everywhere.”

It is extremely easy for us to all walk around with a bad taste in our mouth regarding Penn State. Joe Paterno, as many articles have noted, is Penn State. He is the king (These are not my words, they are those of journalists reporting on the recent events). Indeed, a handful of Penn State faculty, who were prominent in the community and well trusted, let their community down. But the Penn State community is not at fault.  I cannot tell you how to think or feel toward the football coaches and the President of the University, but I can strongly recommend that you do not let those opinions mesh with your beliefs about the Penn State community. After Penn State lost in their last home game on Saturday against Nebraska, my newsfeed on Facebook was inundated with statuses saying they deserved to lose, they were an awful team, and other rude assumptions about the football team. I’d like to believe that these friends were just participating in normative sports banter as they would about the Greenbay Packers or the New York Yankees, but I m afraid that is not the case. Rather, they were letting a handful of people’s actions blur their opinion about an entire sports team. Let us not forget that when these alleged abuses were occurring, the current football players were not on the team.

Second, the tragedy at Penn State emphasizes the reality that most perpetrators of sexual abuse are people that we know and trust. Let us use this story as an opportunity to further dismantle the belief that perpetrators are the ‘strangers in the bushes’ so to speak. Further, and this gets me into my third lesson, we must all fulfill our duty to protect members of our community. The entire under-girding of the outcry about Penn State is that no one reported anything to the police despite witnessing abuse taking place. Of course, we all do not know how we would act in those situations, but it is important to think about it for ourselves now in case we are, unfortunately, faced as a witness in the future. Up until this week, the media lost sight of the victim side of this story, which was a tragedy in and of itself. But we must not forget the victims deserve help, protection, and justice. My heart goes out to the victims, who are now adults and may have never disclosed to anyone, who are likely being re-traumatized by the news stories and public opinions.

Although the victims in this story were young children, the lessons must trickle into campus safety regarding sexual violence. Kayla Webley reminds us that,

“…disclosing campus crime has often been a process fraught with confusion, loopholes, inaction, inconsistencies and, in some cases, negligence and cover-ups.”

The lesson here is two-fold. First, campus authorities must take reports of sexual violence seriously. They must respect the alleged victim’s report and follow through with an open investigation. Favoring a university’s reputation over any individual’s life is immoral and results in a loss of trust and respect within the university community. The response from campus authorities inevitably determines if alleged victims will come forward.  Second, students on campus must become allies against sexual violence and inform their peers that such behaviors will not be tolerated. Peer pressure is a very strong tool. We lay a lot of trust and responsibility in the authorities and faculty — as we should — but we almost must begin to place that trust and responsibility in the student body. If you witness a person being sexually harassed or assaulted, stand up for the victim. Empower him or her to get help. Protect your peers and ensure your own safety.

Overall, the media has made this story about a legendary football network. The media has referred to Joe Paterno as the king. The media has overwhelmed society with implanted emotions. Please take everything you read with a grain of salt, but do not lose sight of the lessons that can be taken away from the general story. Sexual abuse is very real and it does not discriminate across gender, age, race, socioeconomic status, or abilities. Child sexual abuse is a greater tragedy in this world than anything Penn State will ever know.

Colleges Aligned Against Sexual Exploitation

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As I am finishing my second and final year of graduate school in social administration (social work in layman’s terms), I am very fortunate to be interning at a fantastic organization, the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE). The organization is an advocacy organization that strives to address the culture, institutions, and individuals that perpetrate, profit from, and/or tolerate sexual exploitation. CAASE is made up of three sectors: community outreach and engagement, policy advocacy, and legal services. Our vision is to eradicate all forms of sexual violence and exploitation from society.

CAASE has played a prominent role in influencing policy on human trafficking and the sex trade. Our End Demand Illinois Campaign (EDI), started in 2009, has produced many successes such as the Illinois Safe Children Act, which is the first law in the nation to make minors immune from prosecution for prostitution. Also, the EDI campaign has helped to pass the Justice for Victims of Sex Trafficking Crimes Act, which offers sex trafficking victims the opportunity to have prostitution convictions removed from their records.

Being a leader in eliminating sexual exploitation from our community, CAASE is frequently contacted by students who are interested in becoming allies and passionate about eradicating sexual violence and exploitation. Unfortunately, we are a small albeit busy office so we do not have the capacity for students to come into the office and complete projects. But CAASE did not want to shun such an important and zealous group of students. Therefore, CAASE has helped college students in Chicago and beyond start Colleges Aligned Against Sexual Exploitation chapters. The purpose of the CAASE chapters is:

  • To act as a non-profit, non-sectarian, non-partisan, voluntary organization affiliated with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation.
  • To establish a constituency to work in pursuit of the elimination of sexual exploitation.
  • To study and take action on international, national, state, local, and campus issues related to sexual exploitation.
  • To educate the campus community about issues regarding sexual exploitation.

So far, we have started chapters at the College of Dupage, DePaul University, University of Chicago, Roosevelt University, and Northeastern University. We are also in the process of starting chapters at the University of Illinois Chicago and Loyola University. We are so excited to be starting these chapters.

College students are very important allies in ending sexual violence. As SAFER knows, sexual violence on college campuses is both pervasive and often not addressed appropriately. Student groups on college campuses who focus on issues of social justice are rooted in concepts of compassion and activism. These values form the framework for students’ leadership roles in human rights efforts. Indeed, prostitution and human trafficking are human rights violations that occur in communities all over the world, including the United States. More specifically, Chicago is a central hub for victims of trafficking. Approximately 16,000-24,000 women and girls are in prostitution a day in Chicago. Mobilizing students is one of many ways we can strive to eradicate sexual violence and provide support for victims of the sex trade and sexual violence.

If you are a student in Chicago and you are interested in starting a chapter, please do not hesitate to contact me at djenkins@caase.org.

Greek Life as Allies Not Universal Perps.

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As some you may have read in my first blog post with SAFER, I was a volunteer advocate for the rape crisis center on my alma mater’s campus. As a result, I attended many guest speakers and events that the center put on. For many events, the Greek life student body was mandated to attended — by the Greek life President, not by our organization. However, students who were members of a fraternity or sorority did not acknowledge that we were not mandating them and therefore categorized us as “men haters” and “Greek life blamers.” Going forward, it was difficult to defend the rape crisis center’s mission and stance on perpetrators of sexual assault. We lost our legitimacy among the Greek life population very quickly. These circumstances emphasized that blaming all men for sexual assault is a failure to the anti-sexual violence movement. All men are not rapists. All fraternity brothers are not rapists. Men are crucial students to mobilize in the fight against sexual violence on college campuses.

This is why I was so impressed and pleased to read about Greek life at Tufts University. The ATO president, Matthew Sanda, acknowledged that fraternity houses have a stigma against them as locations where sexual assaults often occur. Instead of becoming defensive by this claim, the fraternities and sororities at Tufts University accepted that the rates of sexual assault in Greek houses are hard to dispute. As a result, they took a stand against sexual violence. The fraternities and sororities started a poster series that said “Not in our house.” Additionally, ATO has indicated philanthropic projects done by the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center. They have established this partnership in order to further reduce the stigma associated with Greek houses. Sororities have also played an important role. Chi Omega partnered with Panhellenic Council to sponsor Take Back the Night, a vigil that is intended to empower and support survivors to come forward and tell their story. Students take back the night of their assault and are given their voice, confidence, and power back.

It is so important that fraternity brothers and sorority sisters become the face of allies combating sexual violence. The Greek life community is tight-knit and friendships are formed across memberships. If individual fraternities and sororities are signing up to be allies, they are more likely to hold their fellow Greek life members accountable if and when sexual assaults do occur within Greek housing or perpetrated by a fraternity brother or sorority sister — YES, women can be perpetrators, too! Having the Greek life community discussing topics of sexual violence is just another avenue for education and awareness raising for college campuses. Kudos to you, Tufts!

Gannon University recognizes that statistics do not always match reality

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Sexual violence is a pandemic on college campuses throughout our nation. It is unrealistic to believe that there is a college somewhere in the United States that has escaped the grasp of sexual exploitation altogether. However, the issue arises when colleges do not believe they have a problem with sexual violence. School officials often cling to low statistics of reported attempted or completed sexual assaults and rapes on campus and argue that it is not a problem. But one report is too many. Further, it is unrealistic to think that the reported incidents are the only ones occurring on college campuses. Adopting such a belief among school officials is dangerous and compromises the safety of their college university.

Gannon University, a co-educational Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania, has recognized that statistics do not always match reality.The Department of Justice statistics show that 5% of college women are raped or are victims of attempted rape during their four years of college. However, Gannon University falls well below that statistic. At the University, there are less than 1% completed or attempted rapes reported. Ted Marnen, the director of Gannon University’s office of campus and safety, reported that there are, on average, 1.66 rapes per year at Gannon University.

Despite this low statistic, Marnen recognizes that evidence shows there is not a large issue with sexual violence on campus, but he is aware of under reporting statistics. Therefore, the Department of Justice has granted Gannon University nearly $300,000 to use for programs that will aim to reduce sexual violence on campus. With this money, the University will hire a new violence-prevention coordinator, cultivate a community response to violence, provide mandatory anti-violence programs for incoming as well as current students, and create new crime-response policies. The programs will continue after the funding is over in three years.

The funding was announced by U.S. Senator, Bob Casey, of Scranton, D-Pa. He recently started the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act, which requires colleges and universities to specify their policies on sexual violence, domestic violence, and stalking. As the securityoncampus.org website states:

The Campus SaVE Act seeks to address the violence college aged women face: the highest rates
of stalking, the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence, and 20-25% of students
experiencing rape or attempted rape.

Additionally, according to the Gannon University website, every spring the campus holds a Take Back the Night to rally against sexual violence and domestic violence. This has been in place prior to the recent grant and will continue with the help of the Gannon Counseling Center, SafeNet: Domestic Violence Safety Network, the Erier County District Attorney’s Office, and the Crime Victims Center.

Not only does the recent grant and the upcoming initiatives to stem from this money show great effort in eliminating sexual exploitation on Gannon University’s campus and greater community, but the current initiatives such as the Take Back the Night demonstrates collaboration within the community to truly stand up against violence.

As Marner told the Erie Times News, “we’re putting an added emphasis on safety.”

We applaud the Gannon University community for staring a seemingly small and harmless statistic in the face and accepting that the number may be larger despite the University’s best efforts. The programs that are going to come out of this grant money will undoubtedly promote awareness and create a safer community for students and faculty.

Editorial Raises Concerns About Marquette’s New Prevention Program

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My name is Darci Jenkins and I am a second year master’s student at the School of Social Service Administration (SSA) at the University of Chicago. My concentration is social administration and I am interested in research, policy, and advocacy work on anti-violence issues, particularly sexual violence. I am also in the Violence Prevention program of study at SSA, which is the only graduate-level Program of Study in the nation. My alma mater is the University of New Hampshire where I received a dual bachelor’s in Psychology and Justice Studies. I volunteered at the rape crisis center at UNH for three years. I also interned and worked for a year and a half at the local rape crisis center serving the seacoast in NH. I am extremely passionate about eliminating sexual violence in our communities. I intend to work hard at providing preventative tools to communities in order to prevent sexual violence from plaguing society.

Marquette University, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, traditionally holds its Sexual Assault Awareness Week during the third week of September. University health educator Becky Michelson told WISN news that, “the reason is because first-year students are at the greatest risk for being sexually assaulted typically within their first six weeks on campus.” This year, the Week, which kicked off on September 18, 2011, fell at a particularly important time. The University was investigating an alleged sexual assault that occurred during Sexual Assault Awareness Week in Schroeder Hall. Furthermore, last year, there was a high-profile investigation of student athletes who were allegedly perpetrators of sexual assault; however, no charges were filed. The University received great criticism because they neglected to inform the police of these allegations. The District Attorney then claimed that too much time had elapsed to conduct a proper investigation. You can read more on these issues in a previous post by Megan.

Given the recent spotlight on the University’s sexual violence policies, the University has developed training videos in an effort to continue to make the campus safe. According to an editorial written by Maria Tsikalas in the Marquette Tribune, the videos are narrated by two “pseudo-college students.” The narrators participate in a conversation that relays information on sexual assault. These conversations are intermingled with testimony from students who have experienced sexual assault.

Although the videos were developed to provide sufficient information addressing sexual assault, as well as ways to recognize and prevent it, Tsikalas notes that “the valuable parts are juxtaposed with off-putting moments and absurd ideas.”

For example, the role of the “typical male college student” was fulfilled by an actor who comes across as offensive and absolutely ignorant of the issues surrounding sexual violence and why they are important to a college community. I agree with Tsikalas that this is indeed an off-putting moment. Portraying males in such a way portrays a generalization that all males are rapists. Male college students who watch these videos are not going to be empowered or inspired to take action against sexual violence. Instead, they may buy into the stigma of sexual assault. It is important to remind students on college campuses that not only can perpetrators be acquaintances, but they are not always male. Also, all males are not rapists.

Despite this crude depiction of college males, the University has showed efforts to incorporate males into the fight against sexual violence. During Sexual Assault Awareness Week, male students at O’Donnell Hall were participating in a teeter-totter marathon, in which they teetered and tottered for three days straight. The students raised money for the Aurora Sexual Assault Treatment Center. They also raised awareness of the issue of sexual violence on their campus. The residential hall director, Deandre Taylor told WISN news that, “sexual assault is not a woman’s issue. It’s not a man’s issue. It’s a human being’s issue.” I think Taylor’s response is important and should be echoed in the training videos and educational programs that the University is developing.

Additionally, the educational videos suggest tricks, for lack of a better word, to prevent a potential rape. Students are advised to claim they are HIV positive and to either urinate, defecate, or regurgitate to prevent being raped. Not only are these suggestions most likely going to be laughable among a student body, but they tend to send the message that ‘sexual assault is going to happen at Marquette, so here are some tips to avoid it.’

Although these suggestions in the video may not be taken seriously, it is important to keep in mind that although the “-ate” suggestions may be laughable among a student body, they are techniques that are often suggested as part of emergency intervention when students find themselves in vulnerable situations. However, Marquette should continue to take preventative measures to continue to decrease sexual assaults and one day eliminate them altogether.  Finally, I must note that it is troublesome that the University is advising students to claim they are HIV positive because doing so only perpetuates stigma against a marginalized population in our community – it is not an appropriate emergency intervention in situations involving sexual assault.

Marquette has certainly taken strides against sexual violence in the aftermath of negative spotlight following several sexual assault incidents on campus. As Megan previously wrote, they have developed a bystander intervention program that will be taught by peer educators, in hopes that crimes will be prevented as well as reported immediately. The online videos and further educational programs are positive efforts to provide a safe campus and educate students on the issues of sexual violence. Although we applaud their efforts and positive response following a streak of negative attention, we must not forget that sexual violence is still a pervasive issue that requires continued attention, education, and prevention strategies on our college campuses and beyond.