Changing the ‘rape culture’

IOWA CITY — As an undergraduate at the University of Iowa in 2003, Kira Pasquesi became a victim of sex assault. She told friends. And those friends brushed her off.

'It ended there,' Pasquesi recalled.

But the culture around sexual violence on college campuses across America is shifting, Pasquesi said. And the now 31-year-old UI doctoral and graduate assistant said she's noticed positive changes in Iowa City — although more work needs to be done.

'I don't want to survive in a rape culture,' she said. 'I want to thrive in a community that supports survivors.'

UI students began their most recent fight for that culture shift during the spring 2014 semester following comments from UI President Sally Mason about the difficulty of eliminating sexual violence. They protested, launched websites and made demands, to which administrators responded — hosting listening posts, changing language in campuswide warning emails, putting more money toward campus safety and victim support, and enacting new policies to crack down on offenders.

Mason outlined a six-point plan to combat sexual violence and, as part of that plan, formed a student advisory committee to meet regularly on the issue.

All this has been happening during a time of national attention to the issue. The White House in 2013 reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act, updating requirements for colleges, and earlier this year the White House Council on Women and Girls issued its first report on campus sexual assault.

In September, President Barack Obama launched an It's On Us initiative aimed at raising awareness around sexual violence on college campuses and asking men and women to be active bystanders. More than 230 campuses had signed on just five days after the launch.

UI student leaders launched a local It's On Us campaign earlier this week, setting up tables on the UI campus and asking students to sign this pledge: 'I promise to recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault. To identify situations in which sexual assault may occur. To intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given. To create an environment in which sexual assault in unacceptable and survivors are supported.'

University of Northern Iowa and Iowa State University students also are taking the pledge. Iowa State administrators are reviewing, updating and documenting campus safety and security policies after internal auditors earlier this year found shortcomings in how they track and report crime — including sexual assault.

'Be a part of the solution'

And while much is being done at the administrative level, students say it still comes down to them. Young men and women being respectful of one another and feeling comfortable enough to intervene if they witness behavior that concerns them.

When Grant Laverty first arrived on the UI campus as a freshmen last year, he said no one was talking about sexual violence. Few would voice outrage at 'timely warning' emails about sexual assault reports on campus.

'It's definitely changing,' said Laverty, now president of Mason's Student Advisory Committee on Sexual Misconduct. 'They aren't just brushing it off and putting them in their deleted folder. When it happens, they are asking questions.'

Students across campus — including in the fraternity and sorority system — are requesting and receiving training on what constitutes sexual assault and how to recognize it and intervene, if necessary.

'You see more acceptance of people taking accountability for their friends. You see the message that a lot of men with character feel obliged to get involved and be a part of the solution,' Laverty said.

As a member of UI's Beta Theta Pi chapter, Laverty said he's noticed specific change in the Greek system. Fraternities for generations have been at the center of the debate — often identified as the problem.

'Finally you are seeing a generation of people in fraternities who realize that if we want it to change, we have to be a part of the solution,' he said.

All incoming UI students are required to go through bystander intervention training, and many groups — including sororities and fraternities — are providing members with additional training.

'Changing attitudes and beliefs'

Beyond the It's On Us campaign and Mason's six-point plan, several other initiatives are circulating the UI campus — including a Hawks Help Hawks campaign that also focuses on bystander intervention.

The university's Anti-Violence Coalition has been looking at campus priorities, monitoring outcomes, launching online projects and helping to align UI policies with federal guidelines. Campus officials, judicial administrators, counselors and advocates are being trained using a series of webinars.

UI experts even are using science to analyze how the brain responds to trauma to make sure they have the necessary tools when interviewing survivors, said Monique DiCarlo, UI sexual misconduct response coordinator.

'We also will be undergoing a dating and domestic violence policy review,' she said.

Jen Carlson, executive director of the Iowa City-based Rape Victim Advocacy Program, said she has heard more students talking about their awareness of the issue and reporting a greater sense of social consciousness.

'Those are huge strides in changing attitudes and beliefs,' Carlson said. 'That will not happen with a 30-minute presentation.'

Along with the bystander intervention message, Carlson said, experts still do push risk-reduction tips. But, she said, that method historically hasn't affected change.

'We still advise people to buckle their seat belts to reduce the risk of dying in a car accident,' she said. 'But just because you do that doesn't mean you won't be in a car accident, because there are other people on the road.'

UI sophomore Hannah Snyder said she feels especially skilled at spotting the warning signs after having worked at several local bars. She's even taken initiative on several occasions — helping a girl who was passed out by a toilet and intercepting an acquaintance at a party who she felt was at risk.

'It's easy to tell if they're not comfortable,' she said.