One-in-Four chapter presents its debut performance
Eleven men stood onstage Thursday to speak of the taboo.
Utah State University’s One-in-Four chapter gave their first presentation, telling their fellow male students what they can do to curb sexual violence on campus.
“We are here because many women go to men after they have been sexually assaulted, and we want you to be prepared in case a woman comes to you for help or support,” One-in-Four President David Jones said.
One-in-Four is a national organization, representing the statistic that one in every four college woman have survived rape or attempted rape since their fourteenth birthday.
After seeing the national presentation last year, Jones wanted to be a part of the program at USU.
“It really humbled me by seeing the video and presentation,” Jones, a senior majoring in biology said. “It puts a guy in a woman’s shoes and makes a guy go through the whole horrific ordeal.”
The program started with definitions of sexual assault and rape. Then, a video took the audience through the emotions of rape – the surprise of giving in because of fear of death. It made rape real for men because a power figure, a policeman, becomes a rape victim.
Nathan Putnam, 26, a senior majoring in philosophy and ASUSU executive vice president, clarified a woman’s experience.
Four out of five times, a woman knows her attacker and has known him for a year, he said, explaining why a woman is often taken by surprise.
“The point is that there is no signal, there are no signs, that an everyday situation is going to turn bad,” Putnam said. “Remember that most of these women are with men they trust and that this trust is being grossly violated.”
He continued to say that 70 percent of women do resist, but end up being overpowered physically or psychologically.
One-in-Four will go to Idaho State University next Friday to help start a chapter there. The group hopes to present to all-male groups atUSU including sports teams, fraternities, residence halls and “any other group of men that will listen.”
The groups also works on men’s actions in sexual encounters and the treatment of women.
“Remember that consent is not an absence of a no, it is the presence of a yes,” said Matt Bunnell, a junior majoring in aviation technology.
Because women often turn to their male friends after sexual assault, after the program describes what rape is like, and then focuses on what men can do to help their friends. A university the size of USU is likely to experience up to 350 rapes per year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, so it is likely, the group said, that someone in the audience could help a female friend.
First, take care of her medical and safety needs, said Dave Osmond, liberal arts and sciences major. While rape examinations are difficult, they are necessary to make sure the victim is safe and, should she ever want to prosecute her attacker, she will have the evidence necessary.
-natandrews@cc.usu.edu