Men, Athletics Companies Should Combat Sexual Violence (opinion)
By Brenda Tracy
I was gang-raped by four men, two of them Oregon State University football players. I can't tell you how many times I have used this introduction when speaking publicly. At first I couldn't say it without getting a lump in my throat and tears welling in my eyes, but today those jarring words roll off my tongue. I was ... Gang. Raped. The secret and shame that I held private for so many years went public last November when Oregonian/OregonLive columnist John Canzano wrote about my ordeal and the long list of betrayals that followed. After the release of the second column, I had a decision to make. Would my legacy be defined and end with two newspaper accounts of my worst moments, or would I take my story and attempt to change my community, my state and my nation? I chose the latter. Sexual assault is an epidemic in the United States. One in five college women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape. Ninety percent of these women know their attacker, and 80 percent will never report the victimization. Ninety-eight percent of all rapes are committed by men, but it's only 10 percent of the male population committing these acts of violence and two-thirds of them are serial offenders. Campus serial rapists average six to eight victims each. These numbers are horrifying. As a nation, we should be ashamed that our college students are experiencing this type of widespread violence. That statistic — one in five — bothers me. No. It haunts me. My gang-rape happened 17 years ago, and, statistically, nothing has changed. How do we improve the statistics? How do we prevent the Brenda Tracy story from happening again? The statistics tell us that sexual assault and rape are male issues. So why aren't men at the center of the solutions? For years women have been on the front lines battling the war against sexual violence. Where are the men? Placing the burden on women to "prevent" their own rape is ineffective. It condones victim-blaming and it's insulting to young men because it sends the message that men can't control themselves. "The argument that 'boys will be boys' actually carries the profoundly anti-male implication that we should expect bad behavior from boys and men," says Jackson Katz, creator of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) program. "The assumption is that they are somehow not capable of acting appropriately, or treating girls and women with respect." Most men will never commit rape. However, they may be unclear on the rules of consent or might be afraid of speaking out against other men in their peer group. We need to help young men break the silence by facilitating discussions about relationships, drinking and sexual assault. When we do this, we are empowering men to become leaders and allies in the fight against sexual violence. Recently, I trained with Katz. MVP works with both men and women. The program acknowledges that 90 percent of men have never committed rape: Instead, the focus is on what's going on with the other 10 percent. The program is interactive and collaborative, not lecture-driven. MVP invites young men and women to become part of the solution by teaching them about healthy sexual relationships and how to intervene when they see abusive behavior. The program also offers men and women a safe space to discuss the pressures of trying to live up to societal ideals that perpetuate violence. As a consultant for OSU, I will engage students using the MVP model. Sports culture is deeply engrained in American life. For the most part, athletic companies have steered clear of taking firm stands on the issues of sexual violence, which is unfortunate because they have the power to help shift the culture. They can easily invest in campaigns that raise awareness and encourage and empower men to get involved. I would challenge them to use their unique platform of power and influence to do so. We need change and we need it now. I would ask today that athletic companies and men step forward and align themselves with women, and together we can stop this epidemic of violence.
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