A new rape prevention program at Miami University in Ohio is using a different approach. Unlike traditional programs that target women, this one is aimed at men–on the premise that men have the power to stop rape.
Trained student volunteers, including athletes and fraternity members, will lead small discussion groups.
“This is men talking to men. This is not a lecture, it is not a list of the facts for men to hear, it is not concerned women taking `their’ issue to men,” said Justin Masterson, an undergraduate student and one of 11 peer educators. “We work to create an open discussion about sexuality and sexual assault among men.”
The university’s women’s center has been a primary supporter and its director is pleased the idea now has wider university backing after Miami tested the program last semester.
“For too long we have focused all of our attention on helping women with reducing their risk, which is fine, and we need to continue to do that,” said Jane Goettsch, director of the women’s center. “But we need to engage men on the topic if we are to solve it. So I’m delighted.”
The new program uses the power of peer messages to change attitudes and behaviors, said Kip Alishio, director of Miami’s student counseling service and adviser to the new group. He said men often develop faulty beliefs about women and sexuality through locker-room talk beginning as early as middle school.
“We know peers listen to each other. This is intended to take that fact and start to utilize it to break the silence of male expectations of intimacy and replace that with more accurate messages,” Alishio said.
Peer educators have four goals when leading the small-group sessions: to build empathy for rape victims; to candidly discuss difficult issues involving communication and consent, particularly when alcohol is involved; to talk about how males are taught to be men; and to discuss bystander behavior, or how to react if something is happening that appears wrong.
“We want to get across that this is somebody’s sister, cousin, loved one. We all have females we care about,” said Sherman Smith, a peer educator and member of the Miami football team. “Just respect that person. Just ask. If they are not in position to say yes or no, just assume no.”
The goal now is to recruit men’s groups to participate and then assess the impact of the program, Alishio said.
Nationwide, only a handful of universities have similar programs, Miami officials said.
