The National Sexual Violence Resource Center designated April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month, inspiring universities nationwide to end rape culture on campus.
To encourage sexual violence awareness at ASU, the University’s I Always Get Consent! club organized Consent Week, which club president and public service and creative writing sophomore Kat Hofland said will create a more conscious community.
“It’s a combination of bringing people together under the concept of sexual violence and bringing them together to educate them so that they feel that they are empowered to do something,” she said.
Consent Week, taking place Monday through Friday, will include a consent-themed dinner and a workout session. Raising awareness through these events is the most important thing students can do to help end rape culture, Hofland said.
“If we’re not talking about the issue (of sexual violence), then there’s no way for students to know what they can do or how they can end sexual violence and watch out for each other,” she said. “Students have to be aware.”
Recent events have sparked discussion about sexual assault, most notably after Rolling Stone ran an article about an alleged sexual assault at the University of Virginia that police later said was unsubstantiated.
But college rape culture often goes unnoticed, Hofland said.
“I don’t think a lot of people think about this in their normal lives because it’s not really something that we’re raised talking about,” she said. “The more people learn from their peers, the more they realize that it’s also important to them.”
Graphic information technology freshman Zach Bramwell said students learn to pay attention when their community encourages awareness.
“I think that events like the Consent Carnival really make sure to get students somewhere where consent and sexual violence is discussed,” he said. “Having those organizations on campus and making it known is a big way to change (rape culture).”
In order to eradicate the pervasiveness of rape culture on campus, Bramwell said society needs to create a culture that directly opposes sexual violence.
“We need to create, over decades and decades, a culture around violence and rape so that it is actually shamed and harshly punished,” he said. “It shouldn’t be something that is brushed over and is taken very seriously by everyone.”
To end rape culture in society, women and gender studies associate professor Alesha Durfee said changes must not only begin institutionally, but also individually.
“Even though this is a societal problem, with societal origins … how it manifests itself and impacts people is often on an individual level,” she said. “I think when people take up a cause and see their impact individually, then it’s easier to form a collective.”
Durfee said she believes ASU’s student organizations have developed a more conscious campus.
“I’m personally very happy to see so much student organization and student work around this issue,” she said. “I think that (sexual violence awareness) is something that has to be supported by the students.”
Reach the reporter at aplante@asu.edu or follow @aimeenplante on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
