Step it Up Understanding Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault 2nd Class Step it Up Understanding Sexual Harassment and Sexual Assault

Today’s Discussion The Citadel’s Mission: To educate and develop our students to become principled leaders in all walks of life by instilling the core values of The Citadel in a disciplined and intellectually challenging environment. Class objective: To explain the concept of bystander intervention through definitions, sexual assault/harassment case studies, discussion, and a five-step process. This class has a double goal – to further educate the cadets on sexual harassment and assault, and to explain bystander intervention to them as a means of promoting campus safety.

Step it up…Lead. Juniors, as leaders in the corps, have the duty to understand, apply, and execute concepts. How does this relate when it comes to understanding and responding to sexual harassment and sexual assault? Questions to discuss: Understanding: Do you think you would recognize sexual assault or sexual harassment if you saw it? Applying: As a 2nd class cadet, what are your moral and ethical responsibilities, if any, to help others in difficult situations? Executing: How could you intervene if you saw someone being assaulted or harassed? This slide is a quick reminder of their responsibilities as juniors.

Stepping it up to Intervene Frequently, individuals witnessing issues like sexual harassment do not offer any means of help to victims. This is called the “bystander effect.” Communities and colleges around the country are promoting bystander intervention instead. What is bystander intervention? When someone who observes a situation then takes safe and effective actions to step in and offer assistance. At The Citadel, we call our bystander intervention program Step it Up. Why step in? You are a leader. Leaders understand, apply, and execute concepts. Bystander intervention is a proven concept that reduces violence on college campuses, making a safer, healthier environment for everyone.  This introduces bystander effect and intervention. We have an institutional responsibility (and legal obligation) to educate all of our students on bystander intervention methods.

Five steps toward taking action Step it Up…Bystander Intervention Notice the situation or issue. Decide if the situation or issue demands action. Decide if you have the responsibility to act. Choose what form of assistance to use. Seek input from others. Some possible intervention techniques: Create a diversion Separate the parties Use a group approach to diffuse the situation Talk privately to potential victim Intervene safely. If danger is involved, call authorities instead of addressing the situation yourself. You might give the cadets a barracks scenario, such as knobs being pushed, to discuss these steps. The goal is that they will become more aware of their surroundings and their roles as good citizens, on campus and off, for helping people in need. Reiterate that they should never intervene in unsafe conditions.

Consider the scenarios on the following slides and decide if they involve situations in which you should and/or would intervene. Please be aware that some of the material is graphic and might be disturbing to some people.

Sexual Harassment Case Study http://news.yahoo.com/video/abc-breaking-every-sexual-harassment-080000435.html Did anyone notice the issue? Give examples Did the issue demand action?? Why or why not? Did people have a responsibility to intervene? What are some other ways they could have intervened? Could it have been unsafe to intervene? Play the video first. It is a “What Would You Do?” segment on sexual harassment in a bar. A scene including a woman as the victim is addressed first, and the next scene depicts a man as the victim. After the video, go through the five steps for intervention.

Sexual Assault Case Study Steubenville, Ohio Show clip from 3:20-7:10 : http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xy6rq5_the- steubenville-rape-crew-and-their-slut-shaming-supporters-the-philip-defranco- show_news That was a lot of information, fast…Here’s a summary from Wikipedia The Steubenville High School rape occurred in Steubenville, Ohio, on the night of August 11, 2012, when a high school girl, incapacitated by alcohol, was publicly and repeatedly sexually assaulted by her peers, several of whom documented the acts in social media. The victim was transported, undressed, photographed, and sexually assaulted. She was also penetrated vaginally by other students’ fingers (digital penetration), an act defined as rape under Ohio law. Class leader: Only show the clip from 3:20 – 7:10. Other information is not relevant. The clip is fast-paced but full of information about the case.

Whose lives will be affected forever? The verdict https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9IQrcB6Aak Whose lives will be affected forever? The clip shows the judge handing down the verdict to the two defendants. Their response is very powerful. The defendants’ lives will be affected (one received two years – one for the assault and one for distributing pornography of a minor, and the other received one year for the assault). The victim’s life will be affected – she received death threats and was isolated and subjected to ridicule. Approximately 10 other people were arrested for obstruction, falsifying, threatening the victim, not reporting, providing minors with liquor, etc… The town also has received a rash of negative attention.

Breaking it Down to Step it Up Could this situation have been avoided? Use the five steps in bystander intervention to discuss. Did anyone notice the situation or issue? Give examples Was this a situation that demanded action?? Why or why not? 3. Did people attending the party have the responsibility to intervene? Why or why not? People did notice: More than 400,000 pieces of evidence were gathered on social media in this case, including pictures, tweets, Facebook, and other social media posts. Not one person came to her aid. Many in the party could have stopped the situation by intervening. Each cadet will have an opinion on this. Discuss with them their responsibilities to their friends, whether or not the friend is taking advantage of someone who is incapacitated or is the incapacitated party. Discuss. Discuss Could it have been unsafe to intervene? Give examples 4. What are some ways they could have intervened? Give examples

Tips for intervening Do not put yourself in danger Enlist the help of others if necessary Approach the situation in a positive, non-threatening way Avoid violence If the situation becomes too serious or dangerous, contact the police What are some barriers to bystander intervention and how can we overcome them? Failure to notice Failure to identify situation as risky Failure to take intervention responsibility Failure to intervene due to audience inhibition Even if you aren’t sure if a situation is risky, if you have a gut feeling it can’t hurt to check on the situation. Also don’t assume that just because a lot of people are the location that someone else will intervene. You might not have time for this slide. If you do, remind them not to endanger themselves and to try to get help when possible.