“Stop the problem before it starts.” This timeless adage has been offered as a solution to dilemmas both big and small, each time serving as valuable and effective words to live by. In the case of certain problems facing the UW-Madison campus, the situation is no different.
Sexual assault, dating violence and stalking are already issues plaguing this community, but ones that need to be addressed before the number of victims gets even higher. Currently, one in four women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape throughout her time at college. Ninety percent of these victims will experience sexual assault at the hands of someone they know. Additionally, the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence estimates one in four women and one in nine men will be victims of domestic violence during their lifetime. Females 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk of nonfatal intimate partner violence, and people age 18-24 experience the highest rates of stalking.
While sexual assault, dating violence and stalking are issues facing all the varied demographics, each case is fueled by the same cause: perpetrators’ need for power and control. How the abuser aims to get the upper hand can vary from case to case, but coercion, intimidation, threats and isolation are tactics often utilized.
While many cases of rape, dating violence and stalking have already happened over the years, countless have yet to unfold. As members of this community, it is necessary we educate ourselves about sexual assault and domestic violence and how they exist on the UW-Madison campus. That way, if we find ourselves in a situation where either ourselves or someone we know is dealing with rape or domestic violence, we know how to safely intervene and offer appropriate resources.
Partnering with the UW School of Social Work, Promoting Awareness, Victim Empowerment (PAVE) offers Social Work 672: Contemporary Topics in Social Welfare PAVE. This two-credit, advanced-level course is facilitated by students for students, aiming to, like the proverb says, stop the problem before it starts.
With PAVE Peer Education, students have the opportunity to be proactive when it comes to these very real issues. It can be easy to dismiss sexual assault, dating violence and stalking as problems you need not worry about if you have never personally experienced either. Statistics show, though, that it is impossible someone could remain completely unaffected. Even if you are unaware of it, everyone knows someone affected by sexual assault, dating violence and stalking.
With this in mind, students are taught to facilitate workshops that educate the campus community on the issues of sexual assault, dating violence and stalking as well as address the stereotypes surrounding the crimes and what resources are available to those who experience them.
With the right knowledge, students have the power to end injustice on campus. Sexual assault, dating violence and stalking are issues affecting far too many students. If, by educating themselves, students can take on the responsibility to make their community members aware, we many finally see violence numbers go down.
PAVE is a student organization dedicated to ending sexual assault, dating violence and stalking on the UW-Madison campus through education and activism.
