Tonight I participated in a pilot program of Jewish Women International's (JWI) Safe Smart Dating program that will soon be brought to Sigma Delta Tau sorority and Zeta Beta Tau fraternity on campuses nationwide. The program approaches the issues of dating abuse and sexual assault by teaching about different types of abuse, the signs of abuse and how we can help reduce the prevalence of sexual assault and dating abuse in our communities.
While the information presented was striking, much of it I have heard before in other sexual assault awareness trainings. What struck me most about the evening was the prevalence of men in the room. Of 8 university students piloting the program, half the students were men. Considering global women's issues is the focus of this blog, I rarely take the time to mention the men who are helping to mitigate issues women face in their communities. This is not to say that men do not experience dating abuse or sexual assault; however, according to national surveys presented in JWI's program, women tend to make up more victims of sexual assault and dating abuse than men.
The motivation of these men to pilot a dating abuse program impressed me, but the actions they have already taken to help end sexual violence impressed me even more. Three out of four of the boys present were members of GW Men of Strength, a George Washington University student organization focused on mobilizing university men to combat cultures of violence on campus, with an emphasis on violence against women.
Piloting the Safe Smart Dating program alongside men who are as invested in combatting violence against women as I am was a unique and rewarding experience. While I so often talk to my male friends on campus about global women's issues, they often see it as just that--a woman's issue. The nature of framing problems such as gender-based violence, human trafficking, maternal mortality, etc. as global women's issues is that men hear "women" and assume these issues do not pertain to them.
However, as Hillary Clinton once said, "Women's rights are human rights and human rights are women's rights." Similarly global women's issues are not just women's issues but issues of humanity; and in regards to tonight's program, violence against women is a problem of humanity as well.
Thank you to the men who came out tonight to JWI's Safe Smart Dating Program. I hope as I continue to fight for women's rights that I meet more men like you who realize women's issues are human issues, and who are speaking out against injustice to bring about change.
