'WHAT MEN NEED TO KNOW ABOUT RAPE' PROGRAM FOCUSES ON EDUCATION AND PREVENTION

NOTE: A special news conference is scheduled Thursday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. in the lounge of Memorial Hall East on the Bloomington campus to formally introduce the new program, Safety Awareness Facilitators & Educators (SAFE). Call Erik Novak (812-855-0089) for more information.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A new program is offering free workshops to men on Indiana University's Bloomington campus, to heighten their awareness about campus safety and rape prevention.

Safety Awareness Facilitators & Educators (SAFE) is a student group sponsored by the Office of Women's Affairs that facilitates programs on personal safety and rape awareness for IUB's student population. It replaces the former Peer Presenter Program.

Included in SAFE's efforts is a new program, designed specifically for men in residence halls, classes and the Greek community, called "What Men Need to Know About Rape." It is an effort to eliminate rape and other sexual assaults at IU, and focuses on rape and its prevention, and the debunking of myths about the crime.

The program is presented to all-male groups by volunteer male moderators who lead discussions on how women are viewed in our society, legal definitions and ramifications of sexual assault, consent, and the role of alcohol and other drugs in sexual encounters. IU's Commission on Personal Safety, under the guidance of Dick McKaig, the dean of students, and Julia Lamber, the dean of women's affairs, fully supports SAFE's efforts to achieve a higher profile among students.

"The high number of reported rapes on campus indicates that maybe we're not reaching the people we need to be reaching," said Samantha Brauner, coordinator of Safety Programming.SAFE also offers two other safety programs. "Towards an Even Safer Campus" focuses on a variety of personal safety issues relevant to college life. "He Said . . . She Said" is a rape awareness program for single-sex or mixed-sex groups that focuses on socialization and communication between genders, with special emphasis on date or acquaintance rape.

For more information, contact the Office for Women's Affairs at 812-855-3849 or by e-mail at safe@indiana.edu

(Erik Novak, Office of Communications and Marketing, 812-855-0089 or 812-855-3911, enovak@indiana.edu

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