When faced with statistics on sexually transmitted diseases, abusive relationships or unplanned pregnancies, most college students stay nonchalant, telling themselves it won’t happen to them because those things only happen to other people.
The Vandal Health Education Office is determined to not only show students that is not the case, but also help them prevent any consequences that may occur as a result of having unsafe sex.
To do this, the office started Sexual Responsibility Week. Many events will be scheduled throughout the week aimed to educate students. Today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., there will be a photo shoot in the Idaho Commons by Besider, a birth control support network operated by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. The shoot will be a competition among Greek houses and other interested students. A game of “Sexy Bingo” will also be held at 7:30 p.m. today in the Living Learning Communities.
The traditional Health Hut, which happens every month by Besider, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Commons. An interactive discussion about sex and relationships will be hosted by Dr. Erin Chapman, a UI professor who has a doctorate in human development and family studies, will take place at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Wallace basement. Finally, on Friday, the Health Education Office will set up a table in the Commons to celebrate National Condom Day.
The Health Education Office has numerous resources for students, but Melanie Martin, senior and intern for the office, said not many students utilize them from fear of it being too awkward. The office in turn, plans to make this week fun and comfortable for all students in order to spread awareness.
“That’s one of the things we try to focus on a lot,” Martin said. “Make it fun for them. So the funny pictures, everything like that, funny facts that they’re actually going to want to know more about, rather than stuff like ‘wear a condom’ or ‘use birth control.’ Because we all know that, but it’s not fun to know about it.”
Martin said if it’s not awkwardness preventing students from learning about these subjects, it’s general nonchalance.
“One of the problems is a lot of people don’t have symptoms of STDs,” Martin said. “So then they’re definitely not aware that they have one and then they’re embarrassed to go get tested. Where you shouldn’t be embarrassed, you should be more than willing to go.”
But STDs and unplanned pregnancies aren’t the only negative results of being sexually unsafe. Virginia Solan, coordinator of violence prevention programs, has worked with many students caught in unhealthy relationships and victims of dating violence. Solan said one of the biggest obstacles for victims is realizing they’re in a bad relationship, because definitions for it vary so widely.
“My definition would be whenever there’s a power imbalance that somebody is exploiting, and one person in the relationship isn’t comfortable and they don’t feel safe,” Solan said.
Many situations Solan is called to help with are brought up by friends and family members of the victims. Common red flags that have been observed, during her years of experience, are changes in wardrobe, general withdrawal from social events and a drastic change in personality.
Solan said she gets so many concerned loved ones coming in because the definition of relationship violence is so vague that many victims are unaware that they are victims or even paint themselves to be the abuser.
Years ago, Solan met with a man concerned that he was abusing his wife. He came in after he had slapped his wife across the face. After further discussion with the man, Solan found out that he slapped her after she had thrown his dog against a wall and broke its back. She said their marriage had a history of her being violent toward him. He excused his wife’s actions, because he thought that if he had been a better husband, she wouldn’t have done those things.
“I guarantee you, you know somebody who is struggling with it,” Solan said. “And it’s so critical to be there for a friend, and to be that non-judgmental place where they can kind of process and figure out what they’re going to do and explore options. When people are struggling with relationship violence, the last thing they need is to feel alone or judged.”
Erin Bamer can be reached at [email protected]