Men speak out against sexual violence
The Ragtag event coincides National Day to End Sexual Violence.
Published April 9, 2009
Columbia residents and MU students joined together Wednesday night at Men Speaking Out Against Violence, which was held at Ragtag Cinema, to make their voices heard. The event coincided with National Day to End Sexual Violence.
Sharon Giles, the coordinator of Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center, said the main purpose of the event was to support the rights of all people who have experienced sexual violence.
At the event, Giles spoke about the importance of getting men involved in speaking out against violence.
"Once those who have benefited from oppression stand up and recognize they have benefited, then change will occur," she said.
Junior Austin Connoyer, a marketing and photojournalism student at MU, said the impact that males can have when discussing the topic of relationship violence.
"It's good for males to get involved because it's something people will listen to," he said.
He came to the event as part of Greek Advocates, a Greek group dedicated to raising rape awareness.
Ted Bryant, a strategic communications major at MU, also said that males could make a big impact speaking on violence because it is seen as only a feminist issue. "It's a man's issue," Bryant said. "If more men were to become educated it would dramatically decrease."
Bryant also said men are able to get the message out more effectively to other men.
"If men are the one's speaking out, men are more likely to listen," he said.
Along with the many MU students and community members that turned out, staff members from the university attended.
Among them were Residential Life Director Frankie Minor and Athletic Director Mike Alden.
Shawn Wallace, an undergraduate adviser at the School of Journalism, said he came to the event because he came last year and was very impressed with the attendance and thoughts. He felt that using men's voices to say violence is not acceptable is a powerful way to get the message across.
"The more we talk about it the more difficult it makes it for people to deny," he said. "It makes people recognize and deal with it."
Many people felt that education was the key to reducing and hopefully eliminating relationship and sexual violence.
Giles said that educating people about the real threat violence poses would help the cause greatly.
"Education would start behaviors that weren't violent," she said.
Mary McGuire, a student at Columbia College, said events like this were important to encourage girls who had experienced harassment to speak out.
"I think a lot of girls who have been sexually assaulted are afraid to speak out," she said. "This encourages them to speak out and get support."
People from many different backgrounds spoke out against violence in many different and original ways. Various members of the community read poems, shared their stories, sang, and spoke in general about the problem. Short video clips on the impact of society on violence also played in between speakers.
Men as Allies, The Shelter, Men Against Relationship and Sexual Violence, the Missouri Students Association/Graduate Professional Council Relationship and Sexual Violence Prevention Center sponsored the event.