EDITORIAL

Lack of education perpetuates sexual assault

Women should wear knee-length skirts and dresses, cover their shoulders, refrain from wearing more than a one-inch heel, be virtuous and remain abstinent until marriage. This is the only way that they will be protected against sexual violence.

No, this is not the mantra of The Leader, but of a current modesty movement that has been brewing since the late 1990s. This movement is made up of young girls and women throughout America who are retaliating against women who are empowered by sexual freedom.

The group was set into motion by Wendy Shalit's 1999 book, A Return to Modesty: Discovering the Lost Virtue. Shalit and cohorts claim they are fighting against promiscuous female images portrayed by celebrities, toys and videos. The intentions of the movement are good. However, these women are blaming other women for the sexual abuse and ignoring the fact that male entitlement is taught generation after generation. Also, the group is not taking into consideration that not just "un-virtuous" women are attacked. Men and women of all ages around the world are also subject to these acts.

In its Oct. 7 issue, The New York Times article, "Rape Epidemic Raises Trauma of Congo War," explained that 27,0000 malicious sexual assaults were reportedly performed on females in 2006 in South Kivu Province. This number does not account for the rest of the Eastern Congo. The age range of females attacked was 3- to 75-year-olds. This number is equivalent to all the men, women and children in New York and half of Pennsylvania being raped.

These attacks had nothing to do with sexuality; rather, they were acts of aggression and genocide.

According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAAIN) at www.raain.org, there were average annual 200,780 victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault in 2004-05. These figures are based on a small sample size and therefore do not account for fully accurate percentages. Additionally, because of the methodology of the National Crime Victimization Survey, these figures do not include victims under the age of 12.

There is more surrounding the issue of sexual violence than what areas of a woman are or are not covered.

For the third year in a row, Fredonia's Campus, Education, Awareness, Support and Effect (CEASE) has provided a sexual abuse educational program for the male and female freshmen dorms. Julie Bezek, CEASE project coordinator, explained that the general reaction to the program is positive when she and members of the group Students Teaching Equals Positive Sexuality (S.T.E.P.S.) educate students how to react to lewd remarks and actions. However, every year there are a few male students who laugh about the issues addressed.

She recalled spring 2005 when male students in the freshmen dorms threw fruit and screamed degrading slurs at marchers during the event Take Back the Night.

"It doesn't surprise me. When people are faced with a topic that makes them uncomfortable or that scares them, a natural reaction is laughter," Bezek said. "These acts are cruel and come from a lack of education about sexual abuse. These acts also minimize the traumatic experience that survivors experience."

Because October is sexual assault awareness month, Women's Student Union and Pride Alliance are co-sponsoring Take Back the Night at 6:30 p.m., tonight in McEwen 202. At the event, members of the audience tell personal stories of sexual abuse. Afterwards, the audience marches on and off campus to symbolically end sexual violence against women and men.

Women should not be made to feel guilty about sexual violence due to a lack of virtue and abstinence. Events like Take Back the Night serve as a first step to educating people why women and men are attacked.

A lack of knowledge is the central problem to sexual abuse. Violence is a cultural issue and it needs to be addressed on a global scale. The Leader feels that education about respecting women must start at a much younger age. Also, the violent masculine image that is displayed in many cultures needs to be deconstructed. Engaging men as part of the solution instead of blaming women for the problem is the only way that a dent can me made in ending sexual abuse.