Rape-Free Zone Focuses on Media's Influence

This statistic is one of the reasons members of Advocates for Sexual Assault Prevention began the event three years ago.

The 24-Hour Rape-Free Zone, which started at noon Wednesday, consists of several tables offering information about sexual violence and a long schedule of events focused on increasing awareness about the media's role in female assault.

"Our theme is violence against women, and our focus is to enlighten people about how the media objectifies women," said ASAP Co-chairwoman Tiffany Moore.

Members of various campus organizations, including Feminist Students United!, Queer Network for Change, the Department of Public Safety and the Human Relations Committee of student government sat at information tables to answer questions and distribute literature.

ASAP planned events that examined how music videos poorly represent women and how the violent lyrics in rapper Eminem's music impact women. They also held a workshop for preventing sexual assault.

"We hoped to get students involved by offering activities that students would like," Moore said.

The workshop, "Clarifying the Boundaries: Preventing Sexual Assault" was led by Krista Park, a health education counselor for sexuality at Student Health Service. Park played a tape describing a sexual assault situation and facilitated a discussion about the topic.

She said this type of discussion is the next step in preventing sexual violence. "Not walking by yourself and protecting yourself is the first initial step," she said. "The second step is educating yourself about assault and the miscommunication associated with it."

ASAP members said the goal of the 24-Hour Rape-Free Zone is to raise awareness about sexual assault and to claim a safe space on campus for a 24 hours.

"One in four women will be assaulted in their lifetime," said Moore. "We hope to make people aware of the risk."

Another goal of the zone is to break the silence and the taboo nature of sexual violence.

"It shouldn't be something a victim should be ashamed of," Moore said.

She said this attitude is the reason behind the colorful T-shirts made by survivors and friends of survivors that were strung from tree to tree in Polk Place.

"The purpose of the T-shirts is to show that survivors don't have to be silenced by sexual assault," Moore said.

Some T-shirts expressed the pain caused by sexual violence. One shirt stated, "She was bright. Eager. Kind. She had a brilliant career ahead of her. Then her memory returned."

Other T-shirts encouraged people not to be scared of sharing experiences. "Find your voice and share your nightmares with the world!" another shirt stated.

ASAP members said the event gave students a good opportunity to educate themselves about sexual violence.

Moore said, "Students can benefit by becoming more aware and to know that it is out there."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.