OU encourages responsible sex

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Orange and Brown
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OU encourages responsible sex

Post by Orange and Brown »

WRITTEN BY NATALIE KNOTH
THURSDAY, 01 OCTOBER 2009 08:43

Asking for consent may not seem like the sexiest prelude to a romp between the sheets.

But as conveyed in the “Sex Signals” program at Baker on Monday night, it’s a good idea. The part-scripted, part-improv/audience-participation show offered some sex conversation starters, such as “What do you want to do?” or “Are we moving too fast?” Of course, the option of just whipping out a condom was proposed as well.

The tongue-in-cheek show – a part of Ohio University’s Sexual Assault Awareness Week – also took a humorous look at the stereotypical gender rules that pervade the media and are reflected in the lives of college students. There’s the macho, beer-guzzling, sex-crazed animal – you guessed it, the guy – and then there’s the submissive and sexy – but not too sexy – girl: “The rules keep changing: do men want the girls next door, or the girls gone wild?”

Faulty communication was another theme of the program, where “Do you want to watch a movie?,” “My roommates aren’t home,” and “Do you want to walk me home?” are all misconstrued as open invitations to sex.

Humor aside, the show also highlighted a startling statistic: about 80 percent of the time, victims know their rapist. The assailant often “isn’t a guy with a ski mask waiting in a dark ally,” as the program put it.

There were 248,300 victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault in 2007, and a person is sexually assaulted every two minutes in the U.S., according to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network).

Two assaults occurred Sept. 20 between 1:30 and 3 a.m., according to a crime alert released by the OU Police Department. A female student reported that she was assaulted in the Athletics Mall between Pruitt Field and Wren Stadium off South Shafer Street. In another incident, a female student said she was assaulted on Fern Alley, just off North Court Street. Both women were able to quickly escape their attacker.

New sexual-assault sanctioning guidelines were implemented fall quarter from recommendations made by a task force formed by Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi. The Relationship and Sexual Violence Coalition also was formed by Lombardi over the summer to educate students and others in the campus community about the new policy, according to an OU press release.

Robin Jones, last year’s women’s affairs commissioner on Student Senate – which helped form the guidelines – said prior to the guidelines, students were disciplined based on precedent, without any formal guidelines in place. “There was nothing to say, ‘If it falls in this area, there’s this sanction,’” Jones said.

A new poster campaign – an extension of the Stop at the Buzz campaign that began in 2003 – focuses on two offenses: sexual imposition and sexual battery, said Terry Koons, associate director of Health Promotion at OU.

Sexual imposition is defined on the Student Health Service Web site as "being touched when the touching is offensive to the victim or when the victim's abilities are impaired," while sexual battery is "being pressured or tricked into engaging in sexual conduct that includes penetration."

The two red- and black-colored posters spell out the new “expected” judicial consequences, which include a minimum of a quarter suspension for a sexual violation; a minimum of a year suspension for physical contact; and expulsion for penetration.

A poster about sexual imposition reads “She’s just NOT that into you” and another for sexual battery declares, “It’s NO JOKE.” Also listed is the number for the 24 Hour Crisis Intervention line at 740-593-1616. The confidential line is funded by the WellBeing Plan and available for all, Koons said. The posters were distributed to dorms, and an additional 250 were delivered to off-campus housing.

A sexual-assault visual was set up by POWER and was on display Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at the Howard Hall site across from the old Baker Center and College Green. It was composed of life-size cardboard set-ups of the posters distributed around campus, as well as posters defining the types of sexual assault, from voyeurism to rape.

Koons said the posters inform students of crisis-intervention resources available on campus while also highlighting the judicial consequences of sexual assault.

“I think making people aware of the consequences is a good thing,” Koons said. “Last year, anything could happen from reprimand to expulsion.”

Lindsey Daniels, coordinator for the Tri-County Sexual Assault Prevention Program in Athens, predicted that the new guidelines will initiate more conversation about sexual assault.

“There’ll be more talking and awareness of sexual assault, so in the short term we might see an increase in reports of sexual assault, but there’s not actually more sexual assaults,” Daniels said. “In the past, you might not be aware it was sexual assault, so you wouldn’t report it.” She added that in the long run, the incidence of violations is expected to decrease.

Daniels said alcohol often plays a role in sexual assaults on college campuses because it can lower inhibitions. People must be aware that being drunk is not an excuse for sexual assault, just as it is not an excuse for any other illegal activity, Daniels said.

“If I were out drinking and I got behind the wheel and drove, I’m still held responsible. I can’t just say, ‘Oh, but I was drinking,’” Daniels said.

Emily Dunlap, women’s affairs vice-cmmissioner for Student Senate, said the new guidelines will clarify what is defined as sexual assault.

She said it’s important to remember that men can be victims too, and that there’s “most definitely a stigma” for male victims.

“Normally, it’s male perpetrators and female victims. But that’s not always the case, and it needs to be talked about,” Dunlap said. “If it’s a female perpetrator and a male victim, [he’s] not believed.” She added that there’s a tendency to blame the victim, regardless of the victim’s gender.

POWER also organized an information session Tuesday on sexual assault as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Week.


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