It is a shame that most sexual assault programs are aimed at teaching women the best way to avoid being attacked. Women are told to not walk in dark allies, to keep an eye on their drink, not wear anything too revealing and always to meet in group settings.
There can be no doubt that this is how society teaches prevention. And while these are important safety tips for living in the current realistic world, it is also important to realise that it’s time to break down the stereotype of what it means to “prevent.” We need to focus our efforts on educating boys and young men.
This is not to say that women are never the perpetrators and males are never the victims. However, in the massive majority of cases when a male is the victim, it is another man who did the assaulting. So when we consider the highest priority it has to be arming our young men with knowledge about the topic.
There was a recent case in Steubenville, Ohio where an intoxicated young woman was sexually assaulted as other young men watched and even filmed the incident. It’s a sad thought, but not out of the question, that those men who were involved may not have known what they were doing is considered to be a serious sexual assault.
It has to be address that any sexual act, whether it is oral, anal, manual insertion or any form with a person’s body part or object without consent, is sexual assault. The fact is, not all teens know this, and I think that can be attributed to a lack of sex education.
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