Normalizing Consent
Sexual violence prevention educator Jamie Utt returns to campus for a conversation about creating sex-positive party environments.
“One of the problems in our society today is that the way we talk about sexual violence isn’t empowering.”
As part of the university’s efforts to educate the campus community about sexual violence, Jamie Utt, a diversity and sexual violence educator, will be on campus October 9 and 10 to provide students with more options and ideas for socializing with their peers.
A former sexual assault survivor advocate, Utt takes an innovative approach to talking about party culture and sexual violence on college campuses, one that is focused on teaching students how to create a “positive” party environment where everyone feels respected and safe.
“One of the problems in our society today is that the way we talk about sexual violence isn’t empowering,” said Utt, who first came to the SDSU campus last fall. “If we can have these conversations with students about how they can make their relationships healthier and their parties safer, then the students begin to think how they can help eradicate this thing that has become part of our community.”
Utt’s campus-wide talk, begins at 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union Theatre.
Making changes
Recognizing the problem of sexual violence on campuses requires an engaged, collaborative effort, SDSU hopes to engage more students to curb the environmental precursors of sexual violence and lead prevention efforts among their peers.
SDSU senior Tanisha Scorza, president of Aztecs For Awareness, one of the student groups co-sponsoring Utt’s visit, recalls his talk on campus last year as a conversation that really hit home for students.
“Students need to hear and be made aware of things that could potentially happen when their guard is down,” Scorza said. “Sometimes we can become a victims of something without really understanding what just happened, but we know inside that we’ve been victimized somehow.”
Scorza hopes Utt’s presentation opens the door for more conversation about sexual violence on campus and gives students the skills they need to address the issue head-on.
Utt will also meet with some SDSU student groups working to raise awareness of sexual violence during interactive workshops on Friday, with his campus-wide presentation scheduled for Saturday.
Different approaches
What’s effective about Utt’s approach, said Stephanie Waits, an adviser for Aztecs for Awareness and a health educator in the university’s Health Promotion department, is that it encourages students to come up with their ideas about how to normalize consent in their communities, while simultaneously promoting safer sexual health practices.
“This sex-positive approach is really appealing, unique, and highly motivating for students. They describe Jamie’s approach as more feasible and plausible than alternative options they’ve been given to combat sexual violence,” Waits said. “It’s great to have someone on campus who can talk about something that we think is really important in a new and different way that students resonate with.”
