Healthy relationships: With the country in the Red Zone, more conversations are needed around sexual assault

Jennifer Pencek
·4 min read

As summer winds down and everyone seems to get in fall prep mode — unpacking sweatshirts, cheering on our favorite football teams and running for anything pumpkin spice flavored — Centre Safe staff and preventionists/advocates across the country are prepping for fall in a separate way. We know the time we are entering: the Red Zone.

The Red Zone is the first 6-8 weeks of the fall semester when more than 50% of sexual assaults involving college students occur across the country. Yes, we are in Happy Valley, but no community is immune to sexual assault. No campus is free of sexual assault and other acts of violence. So, what does it all mean? It means we need to keep doing more — we need to know more about what sexual assault is, learn and teach about consent, practice tips of bystander intervention and helping people, and just treat each other as human beings.

First-year students are particularly vulnerable because they often are unfamiliar with the campus and have not found their “people” yet. Unfortunately, perpetrators often target those they harm. While stranger assaults do happen, most sexual assaults involve people knowing each other in some way, and alcohol is often a common factor. Know this — alcohol does not cause sexual assault. Yet alcohol is often used to blame a victim and excuse the actions of the perpetrator. While this information understandably might conjure feelings of alarm or anxiety, remember that knowledge is power.

The term “sexual violence” means any sexual contact with a person without their consent. The range of sexual violence includes:

  • Rape

  • Incest

  • Child sexual assault/abuse

  • Date and acquaintance rape

  • Statutory rape

  • Marital or partner rape

  • Sexual exploitation

  • Sexual contact

  • Sexual harassment

  • Exposure

  • Human trafficking

  • Voyeurism

It does not have to include physical force. It can also involve the threat of force, coercion or sexual blackmail. Sexual violence is a crime of power. It is motivated by a desire to control, dominate or humiliate another person, and sex is the weapon used. Sexual violence violates a person’s trust and feelings of safety. Sexual assault occurs without regard to gender, intimate-partner relationship, or ages of the people involved.

Sexual violence is never the victim’s fault

I have one ask for you today. What is one thing you can pledge to do today to support survivors? What is one thing you can do today to show you take violence prevention seriously? If you need a little help thinking of ideas, consider the following options:

  • Use social media for good. Post a message supporting survivors. Perhaps share resources like Centre Safe, including our 24/7 hotline: 877-234-5050.

  • Talk with your friends and loved ones about the seriousness of this issue and how you are someone they can trust if they ever want to share anything. If people in your inner circle — including yourself — tend to make jokes demeaning others or use language inappropriately — i.e. “That test raped me,” call it out and try to end the behavior. You never know the experiences of the people around you or what they have experienced in life.

  • Post a list of prevention/empowerment events on free bulletin boards.

  • Encourage guest speakers to your classes, workplaces, churches/places of worship, and more.

  • Thank a victim/survivor for sharing their story with you and instead of telling them what you think they should do, ask them what you can do to help them in that moment. Let them know you believe them and are sorry for what they have experienced.

  • Learn more about bystander intervention and how you could safely intervene if you see a situation that feels troubling. Remember the 3 Ds: direct, distract and delegate.

Direct: Direct is when someone intervenes in a situation by directly addressing those involved. Examples:

  • Ask the victim if they are OK or uncomfortable.

  • Directly address the aggressor.

  • Tell the aggressor directly involved to stop.

  • Say things like, “That’s not OK!” or, “What you are doing is not cool.”

  • Ask things like, “Is this person bothering you?” or, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

Distract: Distract is when someone can indirectly intervene in a potential red dot situation by intentionally distracting those involved. Examples:

  • Accidentally spilling a drink near the situation.

  • Pretend you lost your keys and ask for help.

  • Tell the victim that someone is looking for them.

Delegate: Delegate is when someone does not feel comfortable intervening, so they ask someone else to help who may be more equipped. Examples:

  • Call a friend or family member.

  • Call police, campus safety, or report a tip (directly or anonymously).

  • Talk to a professor or RA.

  • Talk to upper class students in that club, association or sports team.

  • In an emergency, call 911.

It is critical to educate ourselves and others on the importance of being a proactive bystander and how to safely intervene when they witness assaultive behavior.

Please know Centre Safe is always here to help. Whether you want to speak with someone confidentially about a traumatic experience or to get more involved in prevention efforts, Centre Safe is always here for you. Our hotline is toll-free at 877-234-5050 and our website is www.centresafe.org. Remember, you are never alone!

Jennifer Pencek is the executive director of Centre Safe.