Southeastern sponsoring workshops on violence prevention

by SOUTHEASTERN PUBLIC INFORMATION
February 26, 2009

DURANT, Okla. -- The Offices of Violence Prevention, Student Life, Residence Life, and the SE Student Government Association will sponsor two March workshops for National Sexual Assault Awareness month. The Kisses & Lies workshops will review Media, Culture and Violence and their effects on the college campus. Cultural messages are everywhere and are very different for men and women. You get them from friends, family, non-profit rape prevention groups, the government and the media and often they conflict. Sorting out this mess can be near impossible. You don’t want more slogans or statistics, you want real, practical advice about what is really happening and how you can prevent it.

This presentation will use honesty and humor to take a candid look at the messages, myths and stereotypes surrounding men, women, relationships and sexual assault and how they change your attitudes and behaviors. We can all agree that rape and sexual assault are bad for us, so let’s talk about what each of us can do to make it better.

Presenter Andrea Hamor Edmondson is the Statewide Sexual Violence Prevention Coordinator for the Oklahoma Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault. A Michigan native, Andrea has a BA and MA in Psychology. She is the chair of the Oklahoma Sexual Violence Prevention Planning Committee and serves on several statewide committees. Andrea honed her communication skills in education and political campaigns and now focuses on effectively communicating the message of cultural change to prevent sexual violence for everyone.

Workshops will be held Thursday, March 5, in the Student Union Forum, 2nd Floor, and the Faculty/Staff workshop begins at 3 p.m. ,followed by the student workshop at 7 p.m. Community partners will be available with risk reduction information and resource handouts.