Popular culture often portrays sexual assault as a women's issue, but members of One in Four, the University's all-male rape and sexual assault peer education group, don't see it that way. The organization, composed of more than 20 male students at the University, aims to educate college males about the role they can play in confronting the issue of sexual assault. The University's chapter is part of a national movement dedicated to raising awareness about its namesake statistic - one in four college women have survived rape or attempted rape since their 14th birthday . Currently, the movement has spread to 41 campuses across the nation.
One In Four primarily raises awareness through a one-hour presentation offered to any all-male audience that requests it. The presentation largely focuses on effective ways males can communicate with victims in a positive way. Additionally, One in Four dedicates one weekend during every spring semester to educating new fraternity pledges about preventing sexual assault. Whereas the group engages most audiences with only a presentation, One in Four President Ted Crockin said sessions with pledges resemble more of a dialogue. Pledges are openly encouraged to ask questions and weigh in on the information.
"A lot of it is how to do bystander intervention within the fraternity system," Crockin said. He added that pledges sometimes find it harder to intervene in situations involving friends, and One in Four tries to encourage the idea that "it's cool to speak up."
Although One in Four does offer at least one program a year to the general public , it mostly delivers presentations to all-male groups. Crockin noted that college men have a tendency to be more open and receptive to learning about sexual assault when they engage the subject as part of an all-male audience. If an audience is coed, males may face more pressure, he said.
Although the group's theme centers around a statistic, the most rewarding part for many members of One in Four is witnessing the tangible effects that their work has on their audiences. For some, this is simply the change in attitude they see after giving a presentation.
"I've seen much more empathy for rape survivors," said Christian Dibblee, the organization's Vice President, "You tend to build up more sympathy and empathy in the minds of men, so when they find themselves in a situation with a survivor, they know what to do and how to react."
Second-year College student and group member Andy Colberg said, for him, the audience members' reactions are often the most fulfilling part of the group's efforts,\n"Sometimes in our work, you can feel like there's no payback, there's no real outcome," Colberg said. "Just hearing from people that what we're doing is helpful and their appreciation, for me that makes it worth it a hundred times over."
Indeed, it is these types of reactions that really substantiate One in Four's mission. Just making the information available to young men is helpful, Dibblee said.\n"For me, if one guy can think differently about giving consent or talking to a rape survivor, even just one guy in 20 on a given night, then it's worth it," he said.\nWith these positive results in mind, One in Four hopes to expand its influence to student-athletes.
"One of our main outreach goals this year has been to the athletic department," Outreach Chair Mike Horsey said, "It's a very distinct part of the male population at U.Va. and one that really hasn't heard a lot of our message."
Horsey has been working in conjunction with Athletic Director Craig Littlepage, Phil Gates, the department's Life Skills Director, and Associate Dean of Students Nicole Eramo to make One in Four's presentation a regular part of the men's athletic program. Horsey's eventual goal is to present the sexual assault program to every male athletics team by next fall and to offer more interactive sessions like the program for fraternity pledges.
"The most important thing is respect and realizing that objectification is the enemy here," Crockin said. "You need to realize that everybody is human and has the same emotions as you do"
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