Sexual Assault Awareness Week aims to teach men and women

Two new victim advocacy events highlighted Sexual Assault Awareness Week at ECU: "How to Help a Sexual Assault Survivor: What Men Can Do," and "A Girl Interrupted: The Debbie Smith Story."

Hosted by the Office of Victim Services, the sexual assault awareness events are aimed at increasing violence awareness among men and women, against women.

Similar programs in the past have generally been targeted at educating women on personal safety tips and what to do if they become a victim of rape or domestic violence.

This year, men were given the unique opportunity to participate in the one-hour men's workshop, "How to Help a Sexual Assault Survivor: What Men Can Do."

The program was held on Monday, Sept. 24 at Mendenhall Student Center in Hendrix Theater at 7 p.m.

The workshop is beneficial in educating men on how to help female rape victims recover from their experiences and in lowering men's likelihood of committing rape, according to Suzanne Molhan, director of the Office of Victim Services.

One-in-Four, an all-male sexual assault peer education group hosted the workshop.

The group's name stems from the national statistic that one in four college-age women report surviving rape or attempted rape since their teenage years.

"To end rape, it's extremely important to reach out to men," said Dan Mollison, One-in-Four group member.

"[To end rape] has to come from men choosing not to rape," Mollison said.

"This program is particularly good at awakening men to this issue."

Preceding the men's workshop, the annual "Take Back the Night" March was held at 6:30 p.m. at the top of College Hill, featuring One-in-Four.

"Take Back the Night" is an international march organized to unify men, women and children in the awareness of violence against women, children and families.

An important aspect of the march is the "walk a mile in her shoes" approach, where men literally walk in women's shoes, symbolizing the rape of female victims.

Some events for Sexual Assault Awareness Week began as early as last week.

The Lifetime TV movie, "A Girl Interrupted: The Debbie Smith Story," was shown on Friday, which depicts the true story of a woman who was repeatedly raped in the woods behind her house.

Debbie gave her testimony on the witness stand in court that during her rape, she began praying, according to the movie.

"My faith was greatly tested," Debbie said. "He [God] was preparing me to do exactly what I'm doing now."

Debbie began to boldly speak out against rape by telling her story to millions.

"I had to be the voice for those that were not strong enough," Debbie said.

"The movie was very powerful," said James Callaway, freshman recreational therapy major.

"Her struggle, her ability to testify and bring her life back, was the most powerful."

Despite trying circumstances, Debbie has become a crusader with intentions to help rape victims and to prevent others from becoming victims.

"If I let him destroy my life, then he will. I won't let him." Debbie said.

The movie illustrates experiences in which many rape victims have gone through that Debbie has had contact with.

"I have every hope in my heart that they [rape victims] will find their own strength," Debbie said.

"Her story makes me proud to be a girl," said Lauren Ray, freshman international business major. "I want to help with the walk in whatever way I can."

Debbie has also made efforts to prevent rape by contributing to the cause legally.

Debbie's name is attached to the Justice for All Act of 2004, which allows thousands of unexamined rape kits to be processed.

Resources to process rape kits were unavailable before this act. The legislation is signed by President George W. Bush.

"It took four years to pass legislation," said Rob Smith, Debbie's husband. "It was a timeless effort."

Debbie speaks without a fee at conferences all over the United States and Canada, and she is the founder and C.E.O. of H-E-A-R-T, Inc., a non-profit foundation established to aid victims of sexual assault.

"One thing I want people to learn is that one person can make a difference," Debbie said.

There are plenty of ways in which men can be the first to take a stand against offensive behavior towards women.

"When men are in a scenario with jokes or suggestive talks about women, not only do they need to get up and walk out, they need to say something," Rob said.

The issue of rape is not only a woman's concern. The issue begins with men as well. "This is a man and woman's issue that we need to work on [preventing] together," he said.

This writer may be reached at news@theeastcarolinian.com.