With sexual assault on the rise across college campuses, UO Safe Ride and Duck Events Fund feel students need to be educated on how to talk about sexual assault and how to act as prevention advocates.
“Let’s Talk About It” was an event held today, May 9, for students and faculty members to hear from a panel of experienced personnel on how to handle sexual assault at the university level. This event was organized by Carolina Reid, the education coordinator for Safe Ride.
Martial arts and self defense Instructor from the Northwest Martial Arts Academy, Ryan Kelly, has been teaching women’s self defense classes at UO for seven years.
“It doesn’t matter what someone does or says prior to an assault, 100 percent of the blame goes to the person who did not receive enthusiastic consent and assaulted another person,” Kelly said.
He also provided tips for what to do in a dangerous situation. Setting boundaries ahead of time — even in a relationship — is crucial, according to Kelly. If someone is forcing themselves upon you, Kelly suggests using verbal commands such as, “No. This is rape.”
If none of these methods work, Kelly said to reach for the perpetrators eyes and/or groin.
He would like to see people incorporate self defense training into the prevention of sexual assault.
Colleen Jones has been a gynecological nurse practitioner at the University Health Center for over 20 years. She wants survivors to know that there are services available here at the UO to help them.
If an assault occurs in the state of Oregon, survivors can receive free examinations, testing and other services within seven days due to the Sexual Assault Emergency Fund, according to Jones.
Jones said she has seen far too many assaults during her time as a nurse. “Each and every time it shakes me and its difficult,” Jones said.
The first panel speaker at the event was Caitlin Corona, the sexual violence prevention and education coordinator for the ASUO Women’s Center. Corona explained that part of her job includes organizing the “Red Zone Campaign” every fall.
The red zone refers to the first four weeks of the school year when students are believed to be at the highest risk for sexual assault. This campaign honors survivors of sexual assault by putting up red flags around campus. It also addresses the issue of blame by distributing posters to bars that illustrate the perpetrator is the person to blame — not the survivor.
“Just because of the clothes you wear, doesn’t make you a target for sexual violence,” Corona said. “You shouldn’t assault people — period.”
Corona believes students may not understand exactly what rape culture is.
“Rape culture is an environment where rape is normalized,” Corona said.
The event also hosted Kelly McIver of the UO Police Department, Kris Martes of the Eugene Police Department, Brooks Morse of the University Counseling and Testing Center and Renae DeSautel from the Office of the Dean of Students.
After each panel member spoke, the discussion broke into an open dialogue for students to ask questions and converse with one another about these issues.