Women on campuses nationwide are taught to walk home in groups at night and learn self-defense to prevent sexual assault and violence. However, men, with whom much of the violence is actually starting, receive little of the same education about sexual violence.
The evidence shows that it is largely men who are enacting violence against women
said Assistant Professor of political science Vincent Jungkunz. Therefore we need to start with the men and how men can combat violence against women.
Jungkunz is one of four panelists in today's Walk A Mile In Her Shoes Panel Discussion. The discussion is the first in a series of events leading up to Sunday's Ohio University's Women's Center's third annual Walk A Mile In Her Shoes march, the international men's march to stop rape, sexual assault and gender violence, with proceeds from T-shirts sales benefiting My Sister's Place, a local battered women's shelter.
During the march, men physically walk a mile in women's heels as a sign of their ongoing effort to prevent gender violence. The week's events hope to foster a discussion where men can realize their ability to make a difference, said David Bly, who coordinates men's outreach at the Women's Center.
This isn't just a women's issue
said Bly, a senior studying political science. People don't really take the issue seriously
even though every two minutes a woman in the United States is being raped.
Bly said that one in six women will be sexually assaulted, and that college-age women are four times as likely to be attacked. The focus of the events is making preventing sexual assault a priority for college students, Bly said.
College is the time when people are making the transition to adult life
said panelist Julie White, associate professor of political science. People are doing that with some degree of reflection of who and how they want to be. A lot of young men are working towards more meaningful equality between men and women.
Sexual assault affects not just the women who are victims, but all women who feel threatened as a result, White said. Women lead lives anticipating violence, but they cannot produce all the security necessary to stop the violence themselves, she added.
In his classes, Jungkunz hosts a discussion with students about sexuality and violence and has been surprised at the recent number of men who are uncomfortable discussing the topic. Jungkunz added that he believes that there has been an increase in misogyny and mistreatment of women recently.
Masculinity is complicated
and a form of hyper-masculinity is about control
power
domination and a sense of entitlement
which extends to how men treat women
he said. Just walk down Court Street late on a Saturday night
