The UCM Office of Violence and Substance Abuse Prevention recently hosted a lecture regarding sexual violence and abuse.

The lecture, titled “YES! YES! YES!”, gave participants an interactive look at the ways our culture facilitates sexual violence. Participants explored ideas on healthy sex, obtaining consent, victim blaming and bystander intervention. Jeff Bucholtz, the director of We End Violence; a national sexual violence prevention service based in San Diego presented the lecture.

During his nearly two-hour lecture, Bucholtz explained some of the ways the culture around sexual violence has changed in the past 30 years and how it is continuing to change today.

“Today, 1 in 5 people have experienced some form of sexual violence. Just 30 years ago, that number was as high as 1 in 3, and those studies didn’t take men into account. So in a way, we’re moving in the right direction, but we still have a ways to go.” Bucholtz said.

Bucholtz also gave several examples of advertisements, song lyrics and television commercials that display unhealthy sexual behavior and explained how these examples have affected the culture of sexual violence.

Bucholtz said whether it’s on television, in movies, in music or in advertising, we are exposed to acts of sexual violence and sexually abusive behavior every day. He says this has changed the way many Americans view sexual violence.

“This has lead to not only a desensitization of sexual violence but also a normalization of it.” Bucholtz said. “So a rapist or abuser might be watching television or listening to music and think that what they’re doing is normal, which is a major problem.”

Bucholtz also spoke on many of the common misconceptions regarding sexual violence and rape as well and the harm some of these misconceptions can cause.

“One of the biggest misconceptions is the idea of ‘consensual sex’. Bucholtz said. “Sex by nature is consensual. So if it is consensual, it’s sex. If it’s not, it’s rape.”

Bucholtz also said the idea of “No means no,” an anti-rape slogan that emphasizes consent, is outdated in today’s culture.

“For years now, ‘No means no’ has become sort of the universal slogan for preventing sexual violence and rape,” Bucholtz said. “But what it should be is ‘Yes means yes, and anything else means no’. Because there are some cases, such as those with alcohol involved, where the victim physically can’t say no because they are so incapacitated.”

Bucholtz ended the lecture by encouraging students and faculty to get involved and be a positive voice within the community and the campus.

“The name We End Violence does not mean ‘we’ as in me and you. It means that everyone can help change the culture of the world we live in”, Bucholtz said. “If everyone in this room right now left with the goal of making this campus a safer place for everyone, we could change the culture very quickly.”

One of the ways Bucholtz suggested students could make a difference is to get involved with the UCM Office of Violence and Substance Prevention.

Wesley Hobson, a violence prevention specialist at VSAP said students, faculty and staff can help by registering for Green Dot Bystander Intervention Training.

Green Dot is one of the university’s approaches to reducing power-based personal violence on campus and in our community, according to the VSAP Office. It empowers students, faculty, and staff to intervene in situations of sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, and stalking by teaching bystander intervention skills and creating a culture of intolerance for power-based personal violence.

“Anybody wanting to get involved can request an overview for their class or student organization or by joining, It’s On Us, which is a student group at the University of Central Missouri that aims to increase awareness of sexual assault, dating/domestic violence, and effective prevention methods,” Hobson said.

Amy Kiger, director of VSAP, says 19 percent of UCM students have experienced nonconsensual sexual contact in their lifetime, and 6 percent say they have experienced it in the past year.

In addition to UCM Green Dot and It’s On Us, VSAP offers programs such as Haven, a sexual assault prevention program, and AlchoholEdu, a program designed to reduce the negative consequences of alcohol on college students. Kiger said they are continuing to develop new ways to educate students.

“We’re getting ready to inform students about a new advanced sexual assault prevention online program they now have access to,” Kiger said. “Students can go to their MyCentral and select ‘Ongoing Sexual Assault Prevention’ under ‘Prevention Education’ on the ‘Student Home’ tab if they want to check it out.”

Students, staff or faculty members who want to get involved with these programs can visit the office in Suite 102 of the Administration Building, or register online at ucmo.edu/vsap.