Male group raises awareness about rape
One in four college women have been victims of rape or attempted rape in their lifetime. With such a high statistic, some college males are trying to make a stand and put a stop to the act.
One in Four is an all-male, sexual assault prevention program aimed at reducing sexual violence against women. According to the organization’s Web site, www.oneinfourusa.org, One in Four’s mission is to eventually end rape and sexual assault in the United States through groundbreaking research and superior educational programming.
Rachel Brighton, Sexual Assault and Anti-Violence Information coordinator, said USU is one of 30 chapters that concentrates on preventing rape and sexual assault.
Members of One in Four educate students on campus about rape, how to prevent it, and how it is harmful to those involved. Derek Marrelli, membership vice president of the organization, said educating young men on campus is an important step in preventing rape and sexual assault.
“We try to make the point that we are someone that a girl can go to for help or just for someone to talk to,” Marrelli said. “We focus mainly on talking to the young men on our campus by presenting to them a presentation called ‘The Men’s Program.’ This presentation helps men know how women truly feel after being raped.”
One in Four’s Web site reported that ‘The Men’s Program’ has been shown to significantly decrease men’s belief in rape myths and significantly lower men’s self-reported likelihood of raping. Among “high risk” men, 75 percent of them report a lower likelihood of raping after seeing the program, the Web site states.
Brighton said she describes The Men’s Program as a way men can distinguish themselves as friends to those who have been victimized of a sexual assault.
“Essentially, as the organization goes out to present, they go as helpers,” she said. “Most men are good guys, and research shows that most of them will be very respectful in sexual situations.”
The men’s program contains a 55-minute multimedia presentation in which many objectives are covered, Brighton said.
At the beginning of the presentation, rape and sexual assault are defined, she said. Following the basics, a short video presentation is shown, describing a male-on-male rape situation. Brighton said what happens in this video is a unique circumstance of a sexually assaulted victim.
“The video we show is of a police officer relaying the story of another officer who was assaulted by some criminals,” she said. “What you get out of the video is a unique scenario of what is going on from the point of view of a sexually assaulted victim.”
Marrelli said watching the video is beneficial because it can really trigger a guy’s emotions.
“By showing the male-on-male rape,” he said, “it is one of the only ways a guy can truly know how it feels for the woman who is raped.”
Following the video, parallels are drawn between the video and experiences a survivor may encounter, Brighton said.
“It makes it easier to relate to victims if you can see yourself as a victim of sexual assault,” she said. “This video is a great example because it gives a parallel between the police officer and women who are often sexually assaulted.”
The final stages of the presentation, she said, suggest other ways men can help rape victims and allow them the opportunity to discuss any questions they may have regarding rape and sexual assault.
“We talk about what these men can do when a friend or a loved one comes to them after being a victim of a sexual assault,” Brighton said. “The police are not the first person they go to after being victimized. It will be someone they consider a friend.”
USU’s chapter has already done two of these presentations this semester, but Marrelli said he hopes many more will want to hear their presentation.
“We will be doing a presentation to both the hockey team and the basketball team,” he said. “Basically though, we will go to any group that wants to hear the presentation.”
Marrelli said any guy interested in preventing rape and sexual violence is encouraged to join One in Four.
“This is a really touchy subject that many guys do not like to talk about,” he said.
But Marrelli said if someone is interested, especially if they are good at public speaking, they should contact him or Brighton.
For more information on the program, contact the SAAVI Office, located in the Health and Wellness Center, or call Rachel Brighton at 797-1510.
“Sexual violence is not such a common thing,” Brighton said. “We’re working in hopes that one day it will go away all together.”
-courtnie.packer@aggiemail.usu.edu