Author, filmmaker kicks off Sexual Assault Awareness Month

By Gavin Lesnick

Photo by Gavin Lesnick

Jackson Katz, a filmmaker and author who specializes in sexual violence prevention, speaks Monday at the Clinton School of Public Service at a news conference marking the launch of Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

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LITTLE ROCK — Men need to be more active in sexual violence prevention efforts and society as a whole needs a major change in how it looks at the problem, an author and filmmaker who specializes in the subject said today at the Clinton School of Public Service.

Jackson Katz, along with Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel and representatives from the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault and the Arkansas Commission on Child Abuse, Rape and Domestic Violence, spoke at a news conference marking April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

Sexual Violence Awareness Month kicks off

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Calling sexual violence "one of the key issues in our society," Katz said the problem has too often been seen as purely a women's issue. That's misleading, considering more than 98 percent of perpetrators are men, Katz said. That label also gives men a reason not to pay attention, he said

"The root cause of the problem with the sexual violence pandemic is not girls and women," Katz said. "Let's be clear: They're not out raping themselves. It's men and boys and a culture that produces those men. If we want to do true prevention, we have to work with men."

Katz, who co-founded an organization at Northeastern University that promotes sexual and domestic violence prevention in professional and college athletics, will give a Clinton School lecture today and will speak at a men's leadership breakfast Tuesday during his visit to Little Rock.

He will also provide training for faculty, staff, administrators and other officials from area universities and service providers, said Helen Jane Brown, executive director of the Arkansas Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

Such efforts are an important step toward "redefining manhood" in a way that involves men and doesn't tolerate sexual violence, Katz said.

"We need to go into male culture ... and say 'guys we need to start stepping up, learning more, partnering with women and training our sons to be better men,'" he said. "And if we do that, then over time, we're going to see significant and dramatic reductions in sexual violence."

McDaniel spoke of a friend who was sexually assaulted at a party while she was in college during remarks emphasizing the importance of addressing the problem.

"It is not just a woman's issue," he said. "It is an issue for all Americans. It is an issue for men. It is an issue for anyone who has compassion in their heart and a belief that justice should prevail and that people should not be afraid of their own friends and because of their gender."

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