Many do not believe that a person as vibrant, friendly and witty as Dean of Students Luoluo Hong can be a sexual assault survivor. However, Hong exuded confidence as she spoke Tuesday of a painful part of her past and her thoughts on sexual assault as a keynote speaker for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
For years Hong has travelled as an education consultant and has given more than 1,500 lectures. Yet, she said this was her first time lecturing on her personal experience at her home campus.
\I have come out of the closet, so to speak, that I am a sexual assault survivor,"" Hong said. ""Hopefully I will begin a discussion and dialogue that will not end today.""
Hong made light of the various ways in which men have told women to protect themselves from rape. She said they tell women not to dress provocatively, not to surround themselves with men they do not know and not to walk home alone.
""If we were to follow the guidelines given to us for rape prevention, can women even attend a university?"" Hong asked.
She said it is not an accident that 95 percent of sexual assault perpetrators are men. She said men are conditioned with certain tenents from birth.
""When we say no woman asks to be raped, that may translate to a man that he has to keep pushing because of the tenent he was taught not to give up,"" Hong said.
According to Hong, self-defense is not a method of prevention, but one of empowerment, something she said she feels can be helpful. She said most importantly, survivors need to talk.
Furthermore, Hong said she feels strongly that pornography and its widespread popularity contributes greatly to sexual assault. After her own experience, she later learned that her perpetrator had specifically targeted her because he particularly liked pornography of Asian women.
Hong suggested that sexual assault prevention open efforts to men as well, although said she feels it is important to carry on feminism because it has come so far in the past 40 years.
""I understand we as women may fear that men will not respect our legacy, but involving them can lead to prevention,"" Hong said.
Throughout the lecture, the audience responded with laughter and interrupted with applause. The question and answer section turned into a series of ""thank you's"" from those in attendance.
Lisa Stephenson, UW-Madison junior and member of Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment, said PAVE is pleased to have someone like Hong at Madison.
""She supports our message 100 percent. It helps if we work together,"" said Gwen Dkyema, a UW-Madison junior and member of PAVE. ""It's a problem overlooked far too often.\
