FAM fights sexual violence with compassion

Author: Alie Burnstein

It seems odd that a night devoted to sexual violence awareness would begin with an a cappella performance. The Mischords, one of the all-female groups on campus, performed three songs, including an especially stirring Tracy Chapman medley. Yet, this event - the third annual Lovefest hosted by Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM) - is so named for it is not meant to be a sorrowful evening. Instead, as Aaron Gensler '08 stated, the mission of the event is not only to "focus on survivors, but to celebrate efforts [being made] to stop domestic violence".

There was definitely a duality in the program. Following the a cappella, there were a number of students who came up, each to contribute something different. One read statistics, another an excerpt from her thesis, still others their original poetry and finally some read published poems and plays applicable to the topic.

Some performers maintained the lighter mood first established by the Mischords. For example, J.P. Allen '11 performed a piece of his own poetry in which he lamented, though not without humor, his lifelong affliction which causes him to fall in love often and nearly instantaneously.

Other performers as well as the statistics students shared dealt with more difficult subject matter and reminded the audience of the issue at hand. The statistics were staggering. One in six American women will be sexually assaulted in their lives and 44 percent of those women will be under the age of 18. One in 33 men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetimes, as well. Even still, it is estimated that 60 percent of instances of sexual violence go unreported.

While the statistics were shocking and the performances deeply moving, perhaps the most emotionally charged part of the night was the open forum following the performances. This was a testament, in part, to the "truly safe and welcoming environment [that] was created so that people felt comfortable really speaking out", said FAM co-president Kolbe Franklin. She believes this is the first time in its three-year tenure that Lovefest has fostered this level of comfort. The forum began with people coming forward to share experiences of sexual assault, either their own or those of people close to them. After that ensued a discussion about a topic that invariably led into another and then another.

First the question was raised, "Why is sexual violence such a difficult thing for people to talk about at Middlebury?" To be sexually assaulted is to be the victim of a crime, yet unlike something like robbery. "There is still so much shame and self-blame attached to these issues that women are often hesitant to get help," as Franklin explained.

The focus of conversation shifted to solutions to solving both this issue of unwarranted guilt on the part of so many victims as well as how to stop the violence itself. Some noted a problem in definitions - the lack of clarity in terminology makes victims unsure of whether they have in fact been assaulted or raped as well as convoluting the process of punishment for a sexual assaultant. Others proposed various forms of communicating experiences of sexual violence to raise awareness as well as comfort in talking about the subject.

Yet, while the students can do so much - host events, start blogs, write letters - people noted that the College too has a role to play in making the campus safer against sexual violence. A change in both judicial procedure for perpetrators of sexual abuse as well as change in policy and a greater willingness to talk openly about his issue could prove to be the initial steps in reducing the instances of sexual violence at Middlebury.