All federally funded colleges and universities are required by the Campus SaVE Act to provide students with primary and ongoing sexual assault awareness and prevention education. Yet, scholars have found that most higher education institutions fail to meet the requirements of the act. Additionally, college-age individuals are at higher risk for sexual assault. Therefore, I have designed a supplementary workshop series to better educate students in hopes of shifting the campus climate and reducing campus sexual assaults. Each workshop focuses on a different aspect of sexual assault; all three can be taken consecutively or students can select certain workshops to attend.
The following is a checklist produced at the 2014 Student Summit on Sexual Assault. If you feel that your organization has not met any of these items on the checklist, then these workshops are appropriate for you.
The summit found that effective, comprehensive prevention programming need to do the following:
Include an understanding of the individual trauma and community trauma associated with sexual violence.
Tailor prevention programs to meet the specific needs of the college and its students, including sub-cultures and languages within the campus community.
Draw on the experience of a variety of survivors.
Take into account the range of sexual violence experiences, not just sexual violence occuring at campus or frat parties or stranger rapes, but also how to prevent sexual violence among peers in different circumstances and violence perpetrated by authority figures, family members, and other acquaintances.
Include a range of prevention strategies, inlcuding effective campus policies and response, social norms change, bystander, women's empowerment, and promotes gender equity.
Include strategies that address sexual violence before it happens (known as primary prevention) as well as after it takes place so it will not occur again.
Occur at various levels of the university from faculty and staff, to all levels of students, including transfer students, non-residential students, and graduate students.
Provide prevention efforts in multiple settings, from orientation to curriculum development to clubs and campus-wide campaigns.
Use various approaches, including educational sessions, social marketing, and leadership development.
Examine ways to shift norms, attitudes and beliefs that contribute to creating a rape culture on campus and in the larger community setting.
Coordinate with the local rape crisis center to ensure compatibility with the larger community context.
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to...
accurately define "sexual assault" and "red zone"
identify populations that are at higher risk of sexual assault
understand how to lower the risk of assault for college students
educate others on basic sexual assault information and statistics
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to...
recognize and challenge common rape myths and victim-blaming behavior
identify media representations that normalize and minimize sexual violence
use trauma-informed language when discussing sexual assault
By the end of the workshop, participants will be able to...
empathize with survivors
recognize warning signs of trauma and assault
identify and implement strategies to support survivors
direct others to support services and resources
Megan Flannery is a scholar, educator, and advocate. She first began researching and raising awareness for sexual assault after she disclosed her own sexual assault experience. A member of RAINN's Speakers Bureau and an advocate at InterAct of Wake County, Megan has given multiple presentations and sat on a number of panels about sexual assault. Read more about her qualifications here.
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Hoffman, L. (2014). (publication). 2014 Student Summit on Sexual Assault: Report and Recommendations. Sacramento, CA: California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA).
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