Sexual assault presentation teaches boundaries, awareness
Sex Signals, presented in the Kiva Tuesday night, showcased comedic skits with active audience participation to educate students on sexual assault.
The show consisted of three skits that showed how easy it is to cross the line into sexual assault. They showed the audience that all rape does not consist of a stranger getting violent with a victim in a dark, scary alley. In fact, according to the National Institute of Justice, 85-90 percent of victims know their attacker and about half of these cases occur on a date.
One of the skits titled “I Really Didn’t Rape That Girl” was an interview with a fictional character named David, who told his side of a story where he was accused of raping a girl named Amy. This skit represented a common case of date rape, where the line of rape could seem fuzzy.
“If a person does not consent to sexual intercourse it is considered rape,” said Chris Beier, a presenter for Sex Signals. “No matter what signs they are giving off, if a person says ‘stop,’ you should stop.”
Sex Signals also touched on the topic of men being victims of rape as well.
“Rape does not have a gender or relationship type. Heterosexual couples, homosexual couples, married couples, and single people can all become a victim of rape,” Beier said.
The presenters also spoke on how alcohol could be used as a tool or weapon. People can use alcohol to get a person to do things that they would not normally do sober.
Presenter Annie Rix advised people who are unsure whether they have a partner’s consent, “when in doubt, get the eff out!”
The show was presented by Catharsis, a production company out of Chicago. The company presents about 1,000 shows a year around the nation, Rix said.
“This is our company’s busiest time of the year, where we do a lot of shows for freshmen and orientations at colleges,” Rix said.
This show was sponsored by the Center for Student Involvement, KSU Sexual Assault Response Team, the Women’s Center, Residence Services, the Office of Student Success and the University Health Services.
Chenayle Bradford is a general assignment reporter for the Daily Kent Stater.
Contact Chenayle Bradford at [email protected].