Campus Acquaintance Rape Education Program

by Ross Wantland, Coordinator of Sexual Assault Education
Office of Women's Programs / Office of the Dean of Students

Sexual violence is not an issue we generally discuss with our children (or conversely, our parents). Consequently, I am willing to guess that many of you have not heard about the sexual assault prevention workshops required by the University. Admittedly, it is disconcerting to hear your son or daughter talk about a "rape workshop" (as some students call it) that they were required to attend. However, these workshops provide your son or daughter with critical information, for themselves and for the entire campus community.

Student activism in the late 80's provided momentum for the formation of the Campus Acquaintance Rape Education program. Because national studies suggested that as many as 1 in 4 college women had experienced sexual assault, UIUC students signed petitions and held rallies for this education to be provided by the university. As this group began working with the administration, the Office of Women's Programs stepped forward to house the program. In addition to education, the Office of Women's Programs began providing advocacy and support for students impacted by sexual assault, domestic violence, harassment, and stalking. In 1992, Women's Programs began teaching a course that trained students to be facilitators for CARE workshops. At this time, these workshops were not mandatory, so CARE held invited workshops with many groups around campus, including sports teams, Greek letter houses, residence halls, and student organizations.

In Fall 1995, a graduate student raped and murdered a University staff member, Maria Pia Gratton. This tragedy shocked the campus, as well as parents and students. Through the urging of students, faculty, and staff, CARE organized a mandatory program for all first-year students to receive during their first semester. We are currently in our 12th year of providing mandatory workshops for first year students. In this year alone, 75 trained CARE facilitators provided 200 workshops to approximately 7,000 students. This amazing program builds a dialogue about an otherwise silent problem.

When I talk with people about this workshop, they often ask, "Is it making a difference?" The question underlying this is, "Do these workshops prevent rape?" The simple answer is no. Of course a two-hour workshop is not going to create huge social changes. But that's not the total answer: these workshops create climate change on campus that impacts every student.

Many students ask why they should go to these workshops. You may also be wondering why is it that this program is mandated for your children? Often, I hear from students that they are not going to rape anyone, and they certainly will not place themselves in a situation where they might be vulnerable to sexual assault. So why CARE? When someone is sexually assaulted, their right to choose when and where they are sexually intimate is taken away from them. We are not talking about choosing to be sexual or to abstain from sex, but when that choice is robbed from us.

Both men and women are likely to know someone who has been sexually assaulted. When this violence touches our family, friends, roommates, partners, and classmates, it is important that we know how we can respond. Unfortunately, we live in a society where this is all too common. CARE workshop participants discuss ways that they can support someone who has been sexually assaulted and steps that they can take to eliminate this violence. Participants are approached as bystanders, someone who may be able to intervene before a sexual assault occurs. By opening up this conversation, we create possibilities for students to change embedded patterns and take active roles in ending rape.

There are many myths about sexual assault. We hear them every day. And for various reasons, we may buy into these myths. You can't rape the willing. Look at what she was wearing.he couldn't help himself. He's your boyfriend; he wouldn't do that. She wanted it. If someone believes these, then she or he does not have to consider how someone they know may have been raped or may be a rapist. Consequently, we can continue to ignore that sexual violence is a widespread problem, one that directly affects one in four women and one in ten men in their lifetimes. We can ignore that bad things sometimes happen to good people.

CARE provides a dialogue to counter the misinformation that exists about sexual violence on our campus. In this way, we can build a community that supports survivors of sexual violence and proactively works to end sexual violence on this campus. We all have a role in creating that change.

Ross Wantland is the Coordinator of Sexual Assault Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he coordinates the Campus Acquaintance Rape Education program, a mandatory peer-led workshop for all first-year students, and teaches two university courses that train students to be peer-facilitators. In addition, he started the Fraternity Peer Rape Education and Prevention program, which trains individual fraternity men to become peer rape educators to their own chapters. He lives in Champaign with his partner, Anita, and their two ornery cats.

For more information about CARE or the Office of Women's Programs, check out www.odos.uiuc.edu/women or contact us at (217) 333-3137. Contact Ross directly at wantland@illinois.edu.