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Risk Reduction: Guidelines to Minimize Risk
of Sexual Assault
Awareness:
Know your
individual rights.
Know which
behaviors constitute rape and sexual assault.
Know how
alcohol and drug consumption impacts your own
and others behavior and how altered judgment
affects your intimate relationships.
Know basic
personal safety information and victim
prevention techniques. Pay attention to what is
happening around you, and avoid, when possible,
vulnerable and potentially dangerous situations.
Personally:
Think about what you really want
in a relationship.
Be aware of stereotypes that
prevent you from acting as you would like.
You have the right to feel good
about yourself and to get help if you choose.
If you have been the victim of
sexual abuse, seek the support that you need.
Act on your needs and wants
while not exploiting others.
In Relationships:
Develop personal intimacy communication skills
and communicate what you really want and what
you are really thinking. Passivity may be
misinterpreted as permission. Be direct and firm
with someone who is pressuring you sexually.
Assert yourself.
Know your sexual desires and limits. Believe in
your right to set those limits. Communicate your
limits clearly.
Listen and pay attention to the verbal and
non-verbal cues you or your partner may be
sending. If you are not sure, STOP and talk
about it.
Trust your intuitions. If you feel you are being
pressured into unwanted sex by your partner or
peers, you probably are.
Be aware that you also have the right to say no
to sexual activity regardless of whether or not
you have had sex before. You have the right to
stop sexual activity at any time.
Prevention:
Suggestions for Ending Sexism & Male Violence
Against Women**
While
beneficial in all cases, the following actions are
particularly powerful agents of change when done
by men.
Understand
how your own attitudes and actions perpetuate
sexism and violence, and work toward changing
them.
Confront
sexist, racist, homophobic and all other
bigoted remarks and jokes.
Use positive peer pressure
to help stop abusive behaviors that may lead
to acquaintance sexual assault. For example,
when over-hearing someone talk about taking
advantage of a partner sexually, let them know
you think this is wrong. Silence can be
mistaken for approval.
Don’t fund
sexism. Don’t purchase
magazines or music, or rent videos or video
games, that portray women in a sexually
degrading or violent manner. Protest sexism in
the media.
Read
articles, essays, books about masculinity,
gender inequality, and the root causes of
sexual violence. Educate yourself and others
about the connections between larger social
forces and the conflicts between individual
women and men.
Support
candidates for political office who are
committed to the full social, economic and
political equality of women. Actively oppose
candidates who are not.
Organize or join
a group of men to work against sexism and
violence (like Men Acting for Change here at
Duke).
Support
individuals and agencies who are on the
forefront in working to end all forms of
violence against children, women and men.
Commit yourself to ending oppression in all
its forms.
**Adapted from: Real Men, P.O.
Box 1769, Brookline, MA 02146
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Resources
Ethical
Definitions of Sexual Assault & Rape
Understanding
Survivors' Experiences
Healing: Taking
Care of Yourself
What Do I Say to Someone Who Has Experienced
Violence?
Special considerations for diverse population
Risk
Reduction
&
Prevention
Organizational
Resources
for Survivors
Recommended Readings
Download the
Entire Resource Page

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Acknowledgement
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