Students strive to end sexual violence

Author: Rachael Jennings

"I want more people to talk about sexual assault," said Aki Ito '09.

Last spring, following a movement inspired significantly by Feminist Action at Middlebury (FAM) to change the College's twenty-year-old sexual assault policy, a group of students gathered in front of Old Chapel bearing signs that read: "Protect Rape Victims" and "Rape Free by ???" Everyone was wearing white, holding hands and supporting each other.

Ito was part of that influential student movement to change Middlebury College's sexual assault policy, pushing for more preventative measures and more extensive support concerning sexual assault cases.

Now, with the recent formation of the Sexual Assault Oversight Committee this Fall, students have decided to move their focus away from the policy aspects of sexual assault, which the committee will be handling, to work more on educational efforts on the student level.

Ito and a group of ten to fifteen core students comprise Students Against Violence - a revamped group that works to end gender violence at Middlebury. (The organization's name and mission statement were changed this fall, as it was previously called Men Against Violence).

"Our group realizes that rape is a larger cultural phenomenon that's based on unhealthy sexual norms, but we also think that it's possible to change our campus culture from this kind of grassroots activism," said Ito.

How does Students Against Violence work to achieve their message?

16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence is an international campaign that Middlebury College students are taking on. Originating from the first Women's Global Leadership Institute in 1991, this period of activism began on November 25, International Day Against Violence Against Women and ends on Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day - a symbol that such violence is a violation of human rights.

Students can also be seen across campus wearing white ribbons. These ribbons are symbols of support for the cause to end sexual violence. Students Against Violence is also taking on a Polaroid Project, in which they photograph students and faculty members holding a big white ribbon in support.

Another task is the Clothesline Project, in which Students Against Violence - working together with a few organizations from the town of Middlebury - will hold workshops that students can attend to decorate t-shirts with their own messages against sexual violence. They will then display the t-shirts around the town and the College campus.

What really inspired Ito was FAM's sexual violence speak-out, held last spring.

"I never really thought about sexual assault, about rape, as being a problem so close to me," admitted Ito. "It never even occurred to me that students were being raped on my own college campus - in my dorm, at parties that I had been to."

Ito is not the only one who has been unaware of the frequency of sexual assault and rape - most survivors of sexual assault do not actually report their experiences to the authorities, as the experience itself can come with much shame, self-blame and humiliation.

The US Department of Justice estimates that less than 5 percent of victims of rape attempts notify the authorities.

On Middlebury College's campus last year, there were 3 cases of on-campus forcible sex offenses reported to Public Safety.

"I know that a lot more students haven't been able to come forward," stressed Ito. "What's been really incredible, and really sad, was that the more I speak to people about the work we're doing, about sexual assault, I've realized that so many people have silenced their experiences."

The efforts of organizations such as FAM and Students Against Violence work tirelessly to spread awareness about the immediate attention that is needed concerning sexual assault, harassment and rape.

"Sexual assault is a topic that comes with so much pain, but it's only when we can have honest, open discussions about when sex goes wrong that we can prevent more rapes from happening," said Ito.

"I want a place where students can intervene on each other's behalf when they know their friends may be too drunk to make good judgments," she added. "I want a place where checking for consent is normal, habitual, even exciting and sexy. And when students do get sexually assaulted, I want to make sure that they'll have all the resources in front of them to heal and to seek justice, and for their friends to be educated about sexual assault so that they won't go through the experience alone."

Ito believes that change for the better is possible, and her hope for a safer and more supportive atmosphere on campus is well-founded. The demonstration in front of Old Chapel last year serves as a reminder: held hands and united voices manifest the positive influence activism can have.

That event, along with the abundance of white ribbons and decorated t-shirts, shows the progress of this movement forward.

"This is an issue that's important to all of us because everyone can benefit from a safer campus," said Ito, "from a school where it's normal to clearly communicate what you want and don't want, and have those wishes respected."