Greek men take proactive role in sexual assault prevention

On university campuses across the United States, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison, April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month usually has a distinct picture: Women giving moving speeches, women teaching other women about sexual assault, women working to end sexual violence.

It is a picture visibly lacking male participation. However, this year on Langdon Street, often referred to as “Frat Row,” the picture is changing.

A group of 24 fraternity members are participating in the Fraternity Action Coalition (FAC), an academic seminar in the School of Social Work that is working to make fraternity members part of the solution to the sexual assault problem.

According to Noah Annes, a facilitator for the seminar and a member of Delta Upsilon, the FAC is changing the face of sexual assault awareness. “Men from the Greek system are owning this problem,” Annes says. “They are taking it on and being really progressive.”

The seminar organizers hope to stop sexual assault before it happens by giving Greek men tools to combat sexual violence. Facilitators teach the fraternity members intervention strategies to stop a potential sexual assault situation, such as the “bringing it home” strategy, in which the intervener relates the situation to what the predator would want for his sister.

The seminar also helps to build alliances and support within the Greek system for fraternity members trying to end sexual violence.

“A lot of the interaction between fraternities in the Greek system is very competitive,” Annes says. “This class has been really good because you really get a chance to know other guys and get to talk to guys from other houses and make allies. We care about the same issues, and our houses are facing some of the same issues.”

The seminar started during 2005 spring semester but took off this fall when former Greek participants became FAC facilitators. Participants in the six-week FAC seminar meet for two hours every week to learn about issues such as sexism, homophobia, feminism and hyper-masculinity, and discuss how these problems intersect with the Greek system. The seminar’s goal is to help fraternity members look critically at their actions and at the actions of the Greek system.

Annes says he has seen improvements within the Greek system, such as less abusive language and higher expectations for new members, but he has also met some resistance. However, Annes says it has become easier with more allies created by the seminar.

“There is definitely room for improvement but we are trying to make a difference,” Annes says. “The more people that go through the seminar, the more change you will see.”

In conjunction with the other events in Dane County to observe Sexual Assault Awareness Month, two events focusing on the role of men as leaders in violence prevention will be sponsored in the coming week.

Men Stopping Rape is sponsoring “Stopping the War (at Home and Abroad) Ending Rape and Domestic Violence: How Are We Raising Sons (and Daughters) Capable of Killing, Raping and Torturing?” from 3-5:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 23.

In addition, “If Men Could Talk, Oh The Stories They’d Tell: Come Share Your Stories Of Growing Up Male” will be held from 1-3:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 30.

Both sessions are being held at the Wil-Mar Center at 953 Jenifer St. For more information, contact Stephen Montagna, (608) 262-9397.

Additional events in the Dane County area are being coordinated by the Rape Crisis Center, a free and confidential service provider for survivors of all forms of sexual violence and their families or friends. For more information, call (608) 251-5126.

For more information on violence prevention efforts on the UW–Madison campus, call Carmen Hotvedt, University Health Services violence prevention specialist, at (608) 265-5966.