This is still very important information. However, focusing solely on the victim/survivor leaves important gaps in the prevention/education process. First, such a focus accepts that rape happens and tends to perpetuate the existing societal culture that says that rape is part of every day life in the United States. Second, the focus on the victim/survivor has as an underlying message that the victim/survivor could have done something to prevent the sexual assault from occurring.

This traditional focus neglects to address responsibility on the part of the person who committed the rape or sexual assault. As Don McPherson says, “The only one who can prevent rape is the rapist.” A culture that maintains a belief that this is a “women’s issue” creates an environment where the victim is expected to change another person’s behavior. Such an expectation puts the responsibility for prevention on the shoulders of the victim rather than on the perpetrator of the crime.

Statistically speaking, the vast majority of perpetrators of sexual violence are males, although the majority of males do not commit rape. The silence among men that surrounds these issues is enough to perpetuate a climate of acceptance of violence against women. Including males in the discussion of sexual violence is necessary in order to work toward reducing the incidence of sexual violence.

“The women’s movement has been working against rape for many years, and offers experience and skilled leadership. But men’s violence against women will only end when men take responsibility for changing the actions and attitudes that make it possible.”
-The Men’s Resource Center of Western Massachusetts

Exploring these issues from a perspective of male responsibility does not open the door to blaming men. It allows men to take an active role in challenging attitudes that can lead to violence and modeling healthy relationships. Sexual violence is a societal issue, larger than any individual man, but each of us can play a vital role in stopping violence.

The Syracuse University R.A.P.E. Center is committed to supporting men and women working together to put an end to sexual violence. When men and women look at their own development as human beings and take responsibility for their actions in relationships, they are more likely to treat one another with respect and speak up against sexual and relationship violence.

Addressing sexual violence from a gender perspective gives males the opportunity to examine masculinity and the social pressures placed on men and boys. An example of such pressure is the notion that “we don’t raise boys to be men, we raise them not to be women” (As Boys Become Men: Learning New Male Roles. Doug Cooper Thompson, New York: Irvington Pub. 1985). The inherent message in this statement is that girls are “less than” boys. Seeing women as “less than” makes it easier for males to justify violent behavior toward women. Males are under great pressure to conform to stereotypes that keep them from being able to freely access a full range of emotions and behaviors.

A large part of the work of the Syracuse University R.A.P.E. Center is to create opportunities for men and women to think about the narrow parameters within which males are expected to function in society. This reflection and thought process lays a foundation for men to see that they have broader options for responding to situations in their lives than they may have previously experienced. Men who are able to expand their definition of what it means to be a man have the ability to be freer and more integrated, instead of going through life with tight boundaries and parameters.

Examining the issue of sexual violence from a larger perspective has the potential to benefit men and women, the university community, and society at large.