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African Female

Our generation compared to our grandparents and parents

I would definitely have this conversation [around sexual assault] with my mother, grandmother, and older women around me that I consider influential. With that being said, I would also like to discuss this topic with my father or grandfather. I know that women are more impacted by this issue, but our generation, compared to my grandparent's and parent's generation, men and even women back then had different ideas about sexual assault. There really was no clear definition. The definition has shifted drastically from their time to our time. So, I would like to see what this means for males, because we want to have those male allies and male awareness. [...] I feel like women are taught when they're married or even identified as women how to act in a quote-unquote "feminine way," but these difficult conversations are not held with men. Men just pick up traits as they see them. That's where a lot of negative stuff comes from. So, I would have that conversation with a woman in my life first to see how it's changed [over time]. But I would also have a dialogue with the men to see how it has impacted them in the past and how we can change it for men today.

Recommendations

  • Including male students across cultures in discussions of sexual violence, gender stereotypes, and stereotypes of masculinity.

  • Ensure all sexual violence prevention and response education and training opportunities actively deconstruct victim-blaming, rape myths and gender norms. Ensure these sessions take an intersectional approach to understanding sexual violence and supporting victim/survivors.