Malinda Levis, The Haven Project

Agenda Sexual Violence on Campus Sexual Assault Interpersonal Violence Stalking

Women High rates of sexual violence, stalking, and intimate partner violence were reported by women. Nearly 1 in 5 women has been raped at some time in her life. One in 4 women has been a victim of severe physical violence by an intimate partner in her lifetime. One in 6 women has experienced stalking victimization during her lifetime in which she felt very fearful or believed that she or someone close to her would be harmed or killed. Much of stalking victimization was facilitated by technology, such as unwanted phone calls and text messages. Almost 70 percent of female victims experienced some form of intimate partner violence for the first time before the age of 25. Approximately 80 percent of female victims of rape were first raped before age 25. Sexual Violence on Campus

Men About 1 in 7 men has experienced severe physical violence by an intimate partner at some point in their lifetime. One in 19 men has experienced stalking victimization at some point during their lifetime in which they felt very fearful or believed that they or someone close to them would be harmed or killed. Almost 53 percent of male victims experienced some form of intimate partner violence for the first time before age of 25. About 1 in 33 men have experienced sexual assault as an adult. Sexual Violence on Campus

Sexual Assault Nonconensual sexual acts/contact

Consent Sexual activity requires consent, which is defined as positive, unambiguous, and voluntary agreement to engage in specific sexual activity throughout a sexual encounter. Consent cannot be inferred from the absence of a "no". A clear "yes," verbal or otherwise, is necessary. Consent to some sexual acts does not imply consent to others, nor does past consent to a given act imply present or future consent. Consent must be ongoing throughout a sexual encounter and can be revoked at any time. Consent cannot be obtained by threat, coercion, or force. Consent cannot be obtained from someone who is asleep or otherwise mentally or physically incapacitated, whether due to alcohol, drugs, or some other condition. A person is mentally or physically incapacitated when that person lacks the ability to make or act on decisions to engage in sexual activity. Consent cannot be obtained from a person whom you know, or reasonably should know, to be incapacitated. (Student Conduct Policies and Procedures, 9/19/2014)

Consent Is Not “No means no” Silence A lack of fighting back Based on gender or sexual orientation

Consent Is Clear Verbal OR an action that could be interpreted consistently Awake and Aware Mutual Voluntary Ongoing Revocable The responsibility of the person initiating the behavior

Alcohol and Consent How much is too much?

Victim May feel judged May feel guilty May feel responsible May be embarrassed May be reluctant to share information if a criminal case is pending

Trauma Sense of trauma is personal. Past events impact recent events. Trauma can overwhelm the victim. Trauma can be experienced by retelling the story.

Immediately afterward there is no time to make sense of what happened…. Delays reporting Delays identifying the incident May make others second guess the incident

Victim Blaming Assigning blame and/or responsibility for the violence to the person who was harmed

Victim Blaming Victim-blaming attitudes may make it harder to come forward and report sexual violence.

Accused Student or Perpetrator An accused student may have responses that are similar to a person who perpetrated sexual violence even when s/he has not committed violence.

Perpetrator May not believe what s/he did was wrong May not recognize the behavior as sexual assault May be reluctant to share information if a criminal case is pending May feel judged May feel guilty May feel embarrassed

Don’t try to “read” into someone’s behavior. “He delayed reporting, so it must not have happened.” “She acted really nervous, so she must have done something wrong.” Use the FACTS you have to make your decision.

Domestic Violence Partner violence

Power and Control Developed by the Haven Project Peer Educators Morgan Chase, Melissa King, Alisia Drew

Victim Response Most dangerous time is when the victim tries to leave Wants the violence to stop May not participate in hearing Downplays the violence Call police for safety

Why A Victim Denies Abuse S/he doesn’t want to get the abuser in trouble S/he takes responsibility for the violence S/he may feel isolated from family and friends S/he rationalizes the reasons for their abuser's behavior, casting blame of circumstances such as stress, financial hardship, job stress, chemical dependency, etc. Between violent episodes, there are periods of calm during which the abuser is charming, nurturing, and caring S/he fears retaliation and escalating violence She loves the abuser

Perpetrator Seeking a sense of power and control over the victim Threatened by any sense of loss of control; may feel dependent on the victim May downplay his/her responsibility feeling the victim’s behavior provokes the violence Often is remorseful for the violence

Stalking Causes fear or distress by repeating acts

Reasons for Stalking 1. Reverse or avenge a rejection 2. Frighten and distress the victim 3. Establish a relationship 4. Spy on the victim to plan an attack

Victim 1. May minimize the stalking. 2. May cause great distress. 3. May have been stalked much longer than s/he knows.

Victims who are Men Delays reporting Fears others will question his masculinity

Men who Assault other Men Act of power and control Often not seen as sexual assault because it is part of a ritual

Victims who are Gay or Lesbian May be targeted because of his/her sexual orientation Need to come out to seek help, report May not have legal protection for employment, property May have concern for the “community”

Victims who are Transgender Experiences a high rate of violence 45% of hate related murders were transgender women Must come out to report May not seek medical care Source: 10/6/14

Accused students who are Black and/or Hispanic Victim may not want to report; won’t want to get perpetrator in trouble Victim and Perpetrator may fear unfair punishment

Victims who are International Students Culture of his/her home country will impact willingness to report May fear “being in trouble” Victim blaming is a cultural phenomenon

Victims with Strong Group Affiliation May want to protect the group Greeks Military Athletics Student Organizations

Sources O:HEA/HavenProject/LessonPlansandPowerpoints/XmalindaandAlisia/AdjudicatingReportsofSexualViolence