On Wednesday, November 8 at 6 p.m., students, faculty and administrators gathered in the Diboll Gallery for the eighth annual town hall on sexual violence at Tulane University. The event, organized by the Sexual Violence Prevention and Response Collective, aimed to foster an open dialogue about sexual violence safety on campus.
The town hall began with keynote remarks from Anna Johnson, co-director of the SPVR Collective, and a keynote address from Jenny Mercein, associate professor in Tulane’s Department of Theater and Dance.
Johnson said intersectional barriers within sexual violence advocacy can impact some people more than others and that there is a misconception that sexual violence only affects people of certain identities.
“Almost everyone on this campus is affected by this issue, whether it’s themselves or their friends who have had an experience,” Johnson said. “Essentially we all do response work and supporting survivors can be extremely overwhelming. »
When she took the stage, Mercein described her production experiences:Roleplay” at Tulane, a critically acclaimed play that led to calls for positive social change on campus. The production focuses on the culture of sexual violence and examines intersectional issues such as race, class, identity, addiction, mental health and privilege.
“I have been continually impressed by the courage of the student artists involved, by their willingness to engage in difficult conversations, to rigorously question the norms and behaviors that support and even encourage toxic behavior on our campus, some of which were themselves (unknowingly) participating,” Mercein said.
As audience members began submitting questions anonymously via the QR code projected on the screen, the panelists introduced themselves.
The panel included administrative directors overseeing various aspects of campus life and student health, as well as student advocates for sexual violence and prevention. They discussed what has been done regarding sexual violence education and awareness, how sexual violence is addressed within the Tulane community, and plans for moving forward on sexual violence. continuing education on sexual violence.
Chief Title IX Officer Marcus Foster addressed discrepancies in the university’s sexual violence reporting, which he said is attributed to a variety of factors. In response to waning campus interest in attending events addressing sexual violence, Foster said the Title IX office conducted a survey of 50 public health students at Tulane to ask how they can continue to effectively raise awareness about sexual violence.
The Title IX office found that most students would like to learn the tools needed to deal with sexual violence in the community. Therefore, the office decided to offer workshops in collaboration with graduate and professional students and faculty to help inform aspiring student leaders in responding to these incidents.
“The initial feedback we have received from these four sessions has been extremely positive, so we plan to continue offering these sessions,” Foster said. He also highlighted the professional development program offered by the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion specifically to university employees in order to learn about gender equity and equip them skills needed to deal with sexual violence in the community.
Continuing education on sexual violence for upper-class men was also a topic of interest during the question and answer portion. Jennifer Hunt, Deputy Director of The Well for Health Promotion and Sexual Assault Hotline and Peer Education advisor, said the goal of the online preregistration models is to establish “shared knowledge, beliefs and expectations regarding healthy relationships and healthy sexuality” among new members of the Tulane community.
She also said new initiatives are underway to encourage sexual literacy within the student body by establishing “touch points” throughout phases of Tulane’s student life cycle, including when students are studying at abroad or leave campus.
Nelda Bailey, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Programs, spoke about the perceived correlation between sexual violence and Greek life. She said her office has trained campus leaders on prevention, what to do when something is reported at a social event and what the next steps are in terms of supporting the person involved.
Hunt stressed the importance of not taking a one-size-fits-all approach to survivors of sexual violence. She said an individual’s lived experiences are key to how they respond to sexual violence, and it is important to incorporate intersexuality into aftercare. Respecting others may involve making space for an affected person in a way that isn’t focused on traumatic events, or centering their voice in the discussion by using inclusive language, she added.
Concluding the panel, the SVPR collective urged the public to remain united and informed.
“I want to thank SPVR for completely changing the trajectory of my college experience and my life. Learning to support survivors has made me a better advocate, but also a friend and a better person,” Johnson said.