This past Sunday, the Sexual Violence Prevention Coalition (formerly known as the Sexual Assault Leadership Council) hosted a Peer Education and Sexual Violence Prevention Summit. Attendees included representatives from the SVPC member organizations (Peer Health Educators, Alcohol and Drug Abuse and Prevention Team, One Less, One in Four, and Feminism is For Everyone), and student leaders from across Grounds. This summit was the first of its kind, and facilitated an honest conversation about Sexual Violence and Misconduct, an issue that has recently erupted onto the national stage but has been a problem on our Grounds for many years.
Our member organizations have long been dedicated to educating the student body about the prevalence and preventability of Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct, but we saw this summit as the chance to unify our diverse efforts into a coordinated one. The Federal Government, States, and Universities across the country have all joined together in an attempt to push Sexual Violence prevention to the forefront of campus life, and to eliminate an unacceptable danger to students. The message is clear: the time for us to act is now.
This summit was a chance to combine student self-governance with effective, immediate, and widespread Sexual Violence Prevention. With directives coming to the University from Washington every day, our ability to maintain University students’ connection with this issue is paramount. This issue affects everyone, and eliminating it from our University will only be possible through increased cooperation while maintaining a strong line of communication between administration and students. In this vein, the University has been working closely with students to unveil the “Not On Our Grounds” initiative, featuring the #HoosGotYourBack Campaign, a joint effort of the University, Corner merchants, and representatives from the student body. #HoosGotYourBack emphasizes that everyone has a role in sexual violence prevention, whether that is through being an active bystander, working to educate peers, or promoting a culture of mutual respect and trust. It is our hope that the student body will grab hold of this mission and truly make it their own, keeping the top down and bottom up processes fluid.
As a coalition, we will work to fulfill the mission and vision we set for ourselves this past Sunday. We hope to unite peer education groups, effectively publicize the resources available to survivors, and present cohesive messaging to the student body. We will also begin the process of evaluating our peer-education groups to quantify and improve our work as needed to best serve our fellow students. We want to cultivate an institutional memory, a bank of sustainable resources that can and will be utilized by the new wave of activists who are constantly stepping up to help. As a peer advocacy community and a student body we will continue to support survivors and let their voices be heard, a commitment which we have never and will never waiver from. We hope this piece facilitates an ongoing dialogue about sexual violence that sparks cultural change, rather than one that starts and ends in April when survivors share their stories at Take Back the Night.
As we move forward with this work, we acknowledge that University traditions and prevention efforts can sometimes come into conflict. At the student summit, many constituents expressed that the language “Community of Trust” can be alienating because of its association with the Honor System, which has a perceived history of representing whiteness, the Greek system and wealth. Sexual assault cuts across racial, socio-economic, age, geographic and social-affiliation lines, and so it deserves to be treated as a community issue. Thus, it is time for us to rethink the meaning of “community” in community of trust. Being in a community means accepting the responsibility that we, as individuals, can look out for one another, and we, as a community, can help to end violence. Our community deserves more from each of us, and from itself. A refocused eye on prevention can be a chance to reclaim and restructure the meaning of community. Sexual assault prevention is something that we must all work together on to solve. Now is the time to step up and come together to show our support for survivors and to prevent potential assaults.
If you would like to get our monthly newsletter about continued efforts and volunteer opportunities, please email SVPCatUVA@gmail.com
Sara Surface is a third year in the College and the External Chair of the Sexual Violence Prevention Coalition. Will Cadigan is a fourth year in the College and the Internal Chair of the Sexual Violence Prevention Coalition. Erica Robertson is a fourth year in the College and the Major Events Coordinator of the Sexual Violence Prevention Coalition.
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