Sexual Violence Reduction Tips

Only those who commit sexual violent acts are responsible. However, NSU believes it is important to provide information on how every person can protect him/herself from being a victim of sexual violence.
1. If you have limits, let them be known as early as possible.
2. Tell a sexual aggressor NO clearly and firmly.
3. Try to remove yourself from the presence of a sexual aggressor.
4. Find someone nearby and ask for help.
5. Take affirmative responsibility for your own alcohol intake/drug use and acknowledge alcohol/drug use lowers your sexual inhibitions and may make you vulnerable to someone who views a drunk or high person as a sexual opportunity.
6. Take care of your friends and ask that they take care of you. A real friend will challenge you if you are about to make a mistake. Respect them when they do.
 

Risk Reducing Behavior for Sexual Initiator

1. Clearly communicate your intentions to your sexual partner and give them a chance to clearly communicate their intentions to you.
2. Understand and respect personal boundaries.
3. DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS about consent; about someone's sexual availability; about whether they are attracted to you; about how far you can go or about whether they are physically and/or mentally able to consent. If there is any question or ambiguity then you DO NOT have consent.
4. Mixed messages from your partner are a clear indication that you should stop, diffuse any sexual tension and communicate better. You may be misreading the messages being sent. Your partner may not have determined how far s/he wants to go with you yet.
5. DO NOT take advantage of someone's drunkenness or drugged state, even if they did it to themselves.
6. Acknowledge your own state of drunkenness when initiating a sexual situation. Your own use may inhibit your ability to understand your partner's willingness to consent.
7. Realize that your potential partner could be intimidated by you or fearful. You may have a power advantage simply because of your gender and size. Don't abuse that power.
8. Understand that consent to some sort of sexual behavior does not automatically imply consent to any other kind of sexual behavior.
9. Silence and passivity cannot be interpreted as an indication of consent. Read your potential partner carefully, paying attention to verbal and non-verbal communication and body language.

 

Examples of Sexual Harassment

(this list is not exhaustive)

  • A professor insists a student has sex with him/her in order to get a better grade.
  • A student continuously sends sexually oriented jokes in emails, even though others have request the emails stop, possibly causing a recipient to avoid the sender in class or in the halls.
  • Explicit sexual pictures are displayed in a professor's office, on the door of a residence hall or as a computer screen saver on a public computer.
  • Two supervisors frequently "rate" employees' bodies and sex appeal, commenting suggestively about their clothing and appearance.
  • A professor engages students in discussions in class about their past sexual experiences, yet the conversation is not in any way related to the subject matter of the class. S/he probes for specific details and demands responses even though class participants are uncomfortable doing so.
  • An ex-girlfriend widely spreads false stories about her sex life with her former boyfriend, making him uncomfortable on campus.
  • Male students begin calling a brunette student "Monica" because of her resemblance to Monica Lewinsky. Soon others adopts this nickname, and she becomes the target of relentless remarks regarding cigars, the president, and Weight Watchers.
  • A female student sends a nude Snap Chat to her boyfriend. After breaking up, the boyfriend shares the photo with others in order to "get back at her."
  • Brushing up against someone when it's unwelcome.
  • Unwanted letters, notes, email messages, text messages, social media posts.
  • Unwanted, repeated telephone calls, invitations, or pressure for sexual favors and/or dates.
  • Threats or insinuations that a student's membership or participation in a group is conditioned on or may be adversely affected by not submitting to sexual advances.
  • Suggestive sounds or noises, including whistles, kissing sounds, howling.
  • Unwanted, inappropriate references to a person as a "hunk," "babe," "honey," "sweetie."
  • Indecent exposure or sexual exhibitionism.
  • Peeping or other voyeurism.
  • Sexual assault or rape.
  • Attempting to force someone to engage in sexual relations.