Christian Coleman argues we need to teach consent in high school classrooms and he’s proposing legislation to make that mandatory.
Sexual assault legislation has focused almost exclusively, on punishment. We need a War on Sexual Assault, focusing on educating young men before they become predators. The War on Drugs costs us about $44 billion. In my opinion, sexual assault is a travesty greater than personal drug use. We have laws to find, convict, and punish rapists (though, they need an overhaul as well). We don’t do enough to prevent rapes from happening. I’m well aware that we’ll never achieve a perfectly safe United States, but that does nothing to make the goal less noble.
I want to talk about Louisiana, because that’s where I am and that’s where I’ve researched. The exact figures are specific to Louisiana, but the ideas are universal.
Now for the argument:
I was subjected, as a child, to a program called DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education). A specially-trained police officer would come into our elementary school classes and teach us how to avoid drugs and their dangers. DARE, as far as I know, popularized the phrase, “Just Say No.” Well, according to the DARE website, “Smoking is the single most preventable cause of death. Specifically, the study found that students that completed the D.A.R.E. program were five times less likely to start smoking compared to youngsters who did not participate in D.A.R.E.” So, at least according to DARE, the program is somewhat effective.
What I’m proposing is a sexual equivalent to DARE; specially educated instructors who come into classrooms and teach students what constitutes rape, why they shouldn’t do it, and fosters a conversation.
The Problem
The rate of forcible rapes in Louisiana during 2009 was estimated at 30.3 per 100,000 inhabitants. It is estimated that between 20% and 25% of women will experience a completed and/or attempted rape during their college career.
SOURCE: http://www.lafasa.org/sexual-assault-statistics.html
The First Steps
Louisiana has 64 Parishes with 258 High Schools, constituting 372,259 Male Students.
SOURCE: http://louisiana.educationbug.org/public-schools/
Teachers in Louisiana are paid a starting salary of $38,655 and an average salary of $49,006
Source : National Education Association (nea.org), National Center for Education Statistics (nces.ed.gov), 2011
Assuming a sexual assault education teacher were put in every high school in Louisiana and paid $40,000/year, the state would need $10.32m. One teacher per parish would cost the state $2.56m. One teacher would travel to the different high schools in each parish teaching what constitutes rape, why it’s such an atrocious crime, and the consequences of rape for victim and perpetrator. Smaller parishes could share a teacher, putting him/her on a rotation.
Why I Believe It Might Help
1982- MADD is founded. 21,113 drunk driving fatalities
2011- 9,878 drunk driving fatalities
SOURCE: http://www.madd.org/drunk-driving/about/history.html
“Specifically, the study found that students that completed the D.A.R.E. program were five times less likely to start smoking compared to youngsters who did not participate in D.A.R.E.”
SOURCE:http://www.dare.com/home/Resources/Default5647.asp?N=Resources&M=16&S=0
How To Pay For It
410 million packs of cigarettes were sold in the state of Louisiana in 2005.
Louisiana’s current cigarette tax is $0.36; the national average is $0.99.
SOURCE: http://www.ctj.org/louisiana/lpb1.pdf
An increase of $.01 (from $0.36 to $.037) per pack of cigarettes would yield $4.1m. That’s enough money to pay one teacher per parish $40,000 to fight sexual assault and have over $1.5m remaining.
We need to treat sexual assault as a public issue, one affecting every community in America. I’m well aware that no legislation can stop evil people from committing evil acts. We have to do something, though; throwing up our hands and conceding defeat is unacceptable.
Photo: Flickr/Hoyasmeg
Read more: The Healthy Sex Talk: Teaching Kids Consent, Ages 1-21
A Letter to my Son About Consent
We Already Have Friends “Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk“
Joanna Schroeder says: May 5, 2013 at 11:59 am Yohan, you sure have a lot of faith in the criminal justice system. I, however, do not. —– You are right, but I am living in Japan and I am originally from Central Europe. Laws and their execution here and there are quite different from those in the USA. For example such a case – link below – would be impossible in the country I am coming from, and in the country I am living now. I am very confident about that. http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/05/04/woman-charged-with-making-false-rape-report/ http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/11/20/freedom-for-man-held-10-years-on-rape-conviction/ What do you think? Who is the… Read more »
I fully agree with the above comment of Marcus Williams, who is pointing out that too many non-rape situations are identified as rape. I think it’s a fair question to ask ‘what is rape’ and what is not rape. For me the definition is not easy, but it should have something to do with ‘being forced to offer sexual favors’. Let me add, the word ‘rape’ for itself is totally misused by native English speakers – in other languages this is not the case. – Boyfriend does not give her money, she feels ‘financially raped’, girl says clearly yes, but… Read more »
At first glance, the idea of teaching consent in classrooms sounds very agreeable to me, because I’m thinking about *my* idea of what consent is and how it works. Within a few words of reading, though, what it sounds like is making it policy to indoctrinate school kids with notions of Rape Culture and “enthusiastic consent” standards that the more I’ve been exposed to them, the more I’ve rejected them. This doesn’t sound to me like teaching kids “healthy attitudes about sex”, which as an over-arching goal, is pretty hard to object to. What it does sound like to me… Read more »
Christian Coleman says:
In college, I mostly heard from women who felt victimized by guys.
—–
Well, this is not my experience when I was a child and when I was a young man, I can assure you that females are at least as violent as men. The only difference is ‘the way how it is done’
To give you one example, links below,
http://www.winknews.com/Local-Florida/2011-06-01/Online-video-shows-Fort-Myers-boy-being-bullied#ixzz1OMnzPHlS
http://jonathanturley.org/2011/06/06/florida-boy-attacked-stripped-naked-in-public-and-videotaped-by-three-girls-resulting-in-no-charges/
I also would like ask you what do you think would be the result, if the genders are reversed?
A prank? I don’t think so, it would be a a felony.
I was going to come in here with a comment about how I’d been thinking recently that the drive for greater mention of abstinence in sex ed could maybe be reworked into a discussion about consent.
But the fact that this article just gendered the problem as “men bad, women victim” like every other program before it has soured that somewhat for me.
Suggestion Zero, Before All Other Suggestions: Try not gendering the problem of rape.
It would something rather original, if nothing else.
I have to agree at least in part with Yohan, Archy and others.
According to the lifetime numbers from CDC appr. every 5th rape victim is a man raped by a woman.
OP:
Exactly what are male victims of female perpetrators supposed to take away from this?
Yes, we only should teach men not to rape women. Women who rape men apparently doesn’t need to be taught not to rape men. Because? Can someone please answer me why?
Sharon-Ann Gladden says: There’s nothing wrong with teaching PEOPLE to be aware ….. Also, Christian’s article is suggesting that informing men about things in schools that admittedly should be considered common sense ….. —– First of all please, if you quote me, please quote correctly what I said. I said, it is naive to believe that education will change criminals who are entering and leaving jails all the time. I did NOT say, that education in school – which should not focus only on male students – will not help at all. My question again and not answered so far:… Read more »
Yohan, you are right. Not only boys should be taught. I was mostly thinking about the times when there is confusion about consent. In college, I mostly heard from women who felt victimized by guys. That being said, we do need to teach everyone. I didn’t mean to gender sexual assault nor do I believe only men are rapists and only women are victims.
Do you have ideas regarding the substance of the plan?
There’s nothing wrong with teaching PEOPLE to be aware and cultivate empathy, responsibility and compassion and less selfishness when it comes to sexual encounters. I don’t think that it’s not politically correct to say that. However, there’s been an overwhelming focus on telling women what not to do in order to prevent rape and not so much when it comes to informing men what not to do with a woman. Having a program like the one mentioned in this article could even out the field. Also, Christian’s article is suggesting that informing men about things in schools that admittedly should… Read more »
Bethany: There is nothing wrong with educating men to be aware and to cultivate empathy, responsibility, and compassion and less selfishness when it comes to sexual encounters. —– Yes, it is true that the perpetrator and the victim often know each other. And? What is so special with that? This can be said about many crimes – theft and burglary for example – not only about sex-crimes. To use your own words, there is nothing wrong either with educating WOMEN to be aware and to cultivate empathy, responsibility, and compassion and less selfishness when it comes to sexual encounters. Or… Read more »
Yohan, all crimes and the effects on their survivors aren’t the same. The intimate nature of a sexual assault adds psychological complexities to the issue. I made the comment that the victim usually knows and trusted the perpetrator to say something about the relationship between the two and how confusing and gray it can be…and thus the need for more education and awareness of what constitutes consent…especially for teenagers, who are dealing with heightened emotions, lack of experience, social and personal insecurities, and a still developing sense of consequences. John Anderson, thank you for pointing out the importance of giving… Read more »
Bethany says:
Yohan, all crimes and the effects on their survivors aren’t the same. The intimate nature of a sexual assault adds psychological complexities to the issue.
—–
You are correct, but women and men are treated differently.
In case it’s about men and even boys, nobody really cares about them.
What do you think will happen, if these victims are girls and not boys?
Link below
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2246378/Dozier-School-Report-reveals-19-unmarked-graves-Florida-boys-reform-school.html
Isn’t it true that the majority of sexual assaults are perpetrated by someone the victim knows and possibly even trusted? The majority of sexual assaults don’t happen because some woman is at the wrong place, the wrong time, not protecting herself and perhaps being provocative. The shame that I find with these kinds of crimes is that people do not realize how complicated social attitudes are. Women blame themselves already for not having the foresight that something could happen by anyone. Women feel guilty when a man assaults her but also feel guilty for being perceived as a paranoid bitch… Read more »
“Attitudes in our society encourage men to pressure and be aggressive. ” This is known in the MRM as virgin shaming. It goes well beyond encourages. It states that your masculinity is determined by the number of women you’ve had sex with. It’s also what causes men to under report their rapes by women in much larger numbers than women under report. Look at what happened to Danny Brown. http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music-arts/rapper-danny-brown-received-oral-sex-stage-concert-article-1.1332919 People are high fiving him for being raped on stage. Do you really think he’d feel comfortable saying he wasn’t especially since he’s a rapper and his lyrics and performances… Read more »
Nobody has the right to kill you, to rob at gunpoint or to rape you, but it is very naive to believe that ‘education’ will prevent criminals who are entering and leaving jails every day to commit crimes again and again. If you have a nice car and leave it with key inside and windows open, how can you be surprised when it is stolen? If you have a house with nice furniture inside and you go out for a walk, door open, how can you be surprised to find your rooms empty? If you are carrying a huge amount… Read more »
Yohan, you sure have a lot of faith in the criminal justice system. I, however, do not. I do not believe our justice system rehabilitates sexual offenders, and yet they aren’t locked up for life. And our justice system has been proven to be racially-biased as well as biased based upon class. Rapes against men (particularly those perpetrated by women) and rapes against women are NOT worse than other serious crimes, but they are often not believed and there is less conclusive evidence. SOmeone stabs you, you have a stab wound. Someone steals your car, your car is gone and… Read more »
“Men are victims too” is a common argument brought up whenever someone advocates for teaching young men not to rape. Yes, men are victims of rape and sexual assault too, and we need to teach both men and women about issues of consent and healthy sexual relationships. The problem remains, though, that the vast majority of rapes are committed by men and the victims are women. Most rape-prevention programs and advice already out there puts the responsibility on women to prevent rape, instead of also addressing how men can play a role in preventing rape. Shifting the conversation from how… Read more »
Yes, men are victims too. And there are many male victims, but it is not politically correct to report about them.
I found this study very good, please read it.
http://epubs.utah.edu/index.php/ulr/article/view/484/352
“Men and boys are often the victims of the crimes of sexual assault, sexual abuse, and rape. In fact, in the U.S., about 10% of all victims are male.” SOURCE: http://www.rainn.org/get-information/types-of-sexual-assault/male-sexual-assault
Consider it reported. It’s a tragedy anytime anyone anywhere is abused; I never said or implied anything contrary to that. Yohan, do you have suggestions on how to reduce sexual violence?
Christian Coleman says: Yohan, do you have suggestions on how to reduce sexual violence? — This depends on the concerned person – the possible victim. What will she decide to do to lower the risk of being chosen as a target of a crime called sexual violence? You might ask me how can I reduce my risk to become a victim of a crime. Any crime. How can I prevent for example to reduce my risk to become a victim of burglary? There is no general answer for that, it depends on the circumstances. Some people might consider to improve… Read more »
One suggestion I have is not to gender rape. I’ve read several comments on discussion boards from men who either did bot recognize their abuse or had not sought assistance because they believed that they were an aberration and it was a personal failing on their part instead of a moral failing on the part of the abusers or they believed that assistance wasn’t available to them unless your aim is to stop certain rapes while (unintentionally) facilitating others. Look up the 2010 CDC NISVS on 2009 men were 50% of the rape victims outside of prison. Women were 40%… Read more »
“The problem remains, though, that the vast majority of rapes are committed by men and the victims are women.”
As long as “women forcing nonconsensual sex with men using their genitals” is tucked away under the heading of “other sexual violence” and not RAPE, I don’t think you can conclusively make this statement.
…..focusing on educating young men before they become predators…
Why only educating young men?
Your idea sounds like a program to prevent a possible crime. What about giving some advice to women to avoid rape? And who says, that only men are the criminals, and only women are the victims?
I agree with Yohan.
I strongly support Christian’s plan, but I do agree that consent must be taught to every student. Regardless of the rates at which females commit rape (there are too many discrepancies in data to solidly say how often it occurs), all rape is bad and should be actively prevented as much as possible.
Let’s teach ALL kids healthy consent education, as well as empower bystanders to end rape culture, no matter who the perpetrator or victim. Starting now.
Just what this site needs, another gynocentric view of rape!