By Callum Henderson
The University of Strathclyde’s Student Association (USSA) is planning classes on sexual consent to run throughout semester two to reduce sexual assaults on campus.
The three workshops, running three times a week in the union, from January until the end of term, aim to combat misogyny and rape culture and take action against sexism, sexual abuse and discrimination.
The first class will address the misconceptions of consent; the second will deal with moral and legal definitions, and the last with rape culture and misogyny, and ways of fighting it.
The initiative is among the first of its kind in Scotland, following a similar effort from the University of Cambridge, and will be entirely student-managed.
President of Women’s Action Network at Strathclyde, April Houston believes the classes will promote equality and empowerment.
She said: “The key theme underpinning these workshops will be respect. This project is being set up in response to the increasing number of students contacting Rape Crisis Glasgow, after experiencing some form of unwanted sexual contact.
After discovering this I realised that some form of education needed to be provided to students surrounding the issue of sexual consent.”
For many women this couldn’t have come at a more opportune time. Recently a number of dire scandals have been brought to public attention, and more women are viewing the culture of male sexuality with apprehension and derision.
The recent accusations levelled at comedian Bill Cosby seem to articulate this hysteria well.
“Rape culture stems from the values and ideas we hold as a society,” believes Houston.
“Women are discussed as sexual objects, ranging from a women’s choice of clothing to the number of sexual partners they may have had. This leads to our culture of victim blaming, which is becoming normalised in our society.
Rape itself has become trivial, with it being used in a variety of different ways to its true meaning.”
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