When Todd Denny asked everyone in the room who knows a survivor of rape to stand up, every person in the room arose from his or her chair.
Denny, a nationally known speaker who has conducted over 500 workshops in colleges and schools in 17 years, spoke Tuesday at the Memorial Union addressing topics such as assault prevention, alcohol and drugs, re-defining rape and high-risk situations.
The workshop, titled \Sexual Aggression 101,"" included members of Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment, an organization at UW-Madison that aims to shatter the silence commonly associated with sexual assault.
Denny began the workshop discussing the issue of sexual assaults involving campus students nationwide.
""Alcohol is a huge contributing factor, but it is not the cause,"" Denny said. ""Assaults are occurring because of the attitudes, beliefs and behaviors that both males and females are learning from pornographic magazines and peers.""
According to Denny, female college freshmen run the greatest risk of being sexually assaulted.
""Many younger women feel very trusting because they deal with the pressure to belong and be part of a group,"" he said.
A majority of students have the picture of a stranger in the bushes, forcefully jumping out after the female walking alone in the dark, Denny said.
""The reality of rape is occurring between people of the same ethnicity, friends and acquaintances,"" he said.
He added the common tactics on campus are not forcing rape, but coercion and manipulation through alcohol, manipulative talking and removing means of escape for the victim.
Members of PAVE also spoke at the workshop, telling the audience the parts it can play in preventing sexual assaults.
""One way students can get involved is by volunteering as a peer educator,"" said PAVE member and UW-Madison senior Kara Van de Grift.
UW-Madison senior Jenny Sweinberg volunteers her time as a facilitator involved in peer education. Sweinberg said peer educators organize workshops for fraternities, sororities and dorms, promoting awareness of sexual assaults on campus.
""Campuses are optimal environments for sexual assaults,"" Denny said. ""The only bad option when it comes to sexual assault awareness is not doing anything.""
