UHCL’s Dean of Students Office is partnering with ConsentisSexy.net to launch a campus-wide poster campaign to help promote and raise awareness on sexual consent. Consentissexy.net reports, “1 in 4 women and 1 in 20 men have had experience of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault while attending college.” That is every 107 seconds that another American falls victim to sexual assault.
UHCL will be taking part in the “Consent is Sexy” poster campaign, as well as a panel discussion to help raise awareness for sexual responsibility, consent, relationships and violence.
“There are several offices on campus that seek to promote consent, including the Office of the Dean of Students, the Office of Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Counseling Services, the Office of Human Resources, and the UHCL Police Department,” said Lindsey Fulton, coordinator of Student Services at the UHCL Pearland Campus. “The Office of the Dean of Students has also been promoting this ‘Consent is Sexy’ campaign through its social media accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.”
“Consent is Sexy” posters will be rotated on a monthly basis, around campus in several locations. Fulton said the posters are located at the Office of the Dean of Students, the Office of Student Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Counseling Services, and the Office of Human Resources as these are offices where students can gather further resources related to consent, sexual assault and Title IX for the university.
Consentissexy.net states that only 1 in 20 cases of sexual assault are reported. UHCL offers a variety of services that are open to the student body for help in a discrete manner. Students are encouraged to take and help those in need if there is an incident occurring on campus.
“The consent posters should be bigger and more informational rather than strictly targeting,” said Tyler Hartlieb, business major. “They tell us that consent is the right thing to do and, in a positive way with no shaming of either sex, it makes a positive ad. But I think there should be more information and statistics that spark conversations.”
Although the Dean of Students Office is sponsoring the poster campaign, the UHCL police are first responders to any crime reported on campus.
“Although the police department supports this campaign and working towards promoting consent, this campaign did not come from the police department. “said Allen Hill, chief of police.
The State law for sexual assault victims states victims may file an anonymous complaint with the police department and keep their identity away from the public through the use of a pseudonym, or by using a fictitious name. The UHCL Police Department makes every effort to protect the privacy of all crime victims.
In addition to the poster campaign, UHCL conducts several seminars throughout the year, including R.A.D (Rape Aggression Defense) training and a “Consent is Sexy” panel discussion.
The UHCL Police Department’s R.A.D team instructs classes on campus throughout the year to students, alumni, staff, faculty, student family members and Clear Lake residents to improve their skills on sexual assault defense. For more information on these classes, email Sergeant Kyle Pirtle at RAD@uhcl.edu.
UHCL’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report 2016 states, “all new students receive a Title IX presentation from the Dean of Students Office, International Student’s Office and Counseling Services in October during Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM).” One of the events planned for this October is the “Consent is Sexy” panel discussion that raises awareness about sexuality, relationships and what consent really is in an effort to end sexual violence.
“The Office of the Dean of Students is coordinating the programming efforts within the Student Services Division,” said David Rachita, MA
dean of students. “We have established an advisory board which meets several times a semester to talk through current and potential programming efforts. It is from this group that the idea of the poster campaign was developed. This group also discusses ideas for adding programming for those topics that perhaps need more attention.”
The “Consent is Sexy” campaign opens the topic up to the public and informs the community that there is an issue. Sexual assaults on college campuses throughout the nation have been described as the “silent epidemic.” Consentissexy.net statistics state, “more than 2 in 4 high school girls and 3 in 4 high school boys believe forced sex is OK under some circumstances.”
Fulton said the reason for these poster campaigns is to bring up the issue of sexual assault and address the issues while reaching as many people as possible. These posters are to help people understand the reality of sexual assault can happen to anyone, and will not be tolerated.
“We want everyone to know that we do not stand for sexual assault at UHCL,” Fulton said.
