Over Creighton’s spring break, a discussion was launched between Creighton students, alumni, faculty and staff about a certain shirt that a local bar and grill, The Jay, had recently sold. The shirt reads, “We are not responsible for lost or stolen virginity.”
Today, March 23, Creighton’s Violence Intervention and Prevention Center hosted a Rape Culture Talk Back where there was a lot of discussion of the t-shirt. Lauren Pilnick, Associate Director for Prevention Education and Inclusion, VIP Center, and Allison Taylor, Executive Director, Office of Equity and Inclusion, look at the t-shirt discussion as an opportunity for discussion about rape culture.
“A lot of people have never heard the term, Rape Culture, and don’t know what it is,” said Pilnick.
According to the PowerPoint presentation given at the event, in a rape culture, people are surrounded by everyday phenomena that validate and perpetuate rape such as jokes, TV, music, advertising, legal jargon, laws, words and imagery.
The students who attended this event responded to this with a discussion about the issues related to rape culture that surround college students.
“Rape culture exists on college campuses everywhere. We – as men and women for and with others – can be part of the change to promote respect of the human being,” said Arts and Sciences junior, Molly Krebs.
One of the points brought up in the discussion multiple times was the fact that there are so many excuses. For example, this just how society is, or that’s the college culture. In order to change this mentality, students at the discussion said people must stand up against a rape culture.
“We have a lot of influence over our peers,” said Pilnick. “If you convey opinions about rape culture, your friends will listen to you. It can really affect our culture and society.”
This statement started a discussion about conversation and how much influence that can have on the situation.
“Educating students about rape culture and making them aware of this is probably the only thing that will help end it,” said Taylor.
Education and encouragement to stand up are the top two things students feel that they can do to help. A lot of the time these jokes and other things such as The Jay t-shirt are created out of ignorance. Students can encourage others to stand up by standing up and saying something themselves.
“I believe that the education sessions taking place on campus can assist our community in supporting our survivors, calling out those who contribute to rape culture, and learning how to be proactive in the movement,” Krebs said.
The VIP center will be hosting multiple events in April as a part of Sexual Assault awareness month. Students are encouraged to attend Green Dot Bystander training on Friday, April 17 from 1 p.m.- 4 p.m. in Harper 3027, Brown Bag Discussion about Sexual Violence on Monday, April 20 from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. in Skutt 105, and Take Back the Night Rally and After-Event & Denim Day on Thursday, April 23 starting at 7 p.m. on the steps of St. John’s and continues in Skutt 104.