Sexual Assault, Consent, & More

EOU Privileged Campus Advocate:  Tyana Musrasrik.

Location:  Zabel 113  |   Office:  541.962.3381  Hotline: 541.963.9261  |  Email:  tkshelter@eoni.com or advocate@eou.edu .

Privileged Campus Advocate services are free and confidential for EOU students and employees.

Sexual Assault 

Sexual Assault as any nonconsensual sexual act. A sexual act is nonconsensual if it is:

• inflicted upon someone who cannot grant consent (due to cognitive disability, age, incapacitation due to drug/alcohol use, etc.); or
• compelled through the use of coercion, intimidation, threats, or physical force
• Visit the EOU Sex Matters page for the detailed definitions of Sexual Assault, Sexual Exploitation, Sexual Harassment and Stalking
• To learn about REPORTING AN ASSAULT visit https://www.eou.edu/student-affairs/sex-matters/ or  https://www.eou.edu/student-affairs/sex-matters/what-to-do/

Consent

Consent must be informed (the person being acted upon knows what is happening) and mutual (both parties have input and both want to participate in a given sexual act.)

Communication is important. Consent is not implied; talk to your partner about what is comfortable for him or her every step of the way. Pay attention to both verbal and non-verbal communication – the absence of a “no” does not imply consent, nor does a prior sexual relationship. A person who is mentally or physically incapacitated by drugs or alcohol cannot give consent.

Dating Violence

Dating violence occurs in intimate relationships and involves a pattern of behavior in which one person tries to exert power and control over another person. Dating violence can take many forms, including emotional, verbal, sexual, physical, and economic abuse.

Stalking 

Stalking is a pattern of behavior in which one person causes another to feel fear by following, monitoring, or surveilling them. Sexual assault, dating violence, and stalking may occur independently or in tandem with one another.

What YOU Can Do

Bystander Intervention 

Bystander intervention is a sexual assault prevention strategy that encourages witnesses to take safe action when they see a situation that might lead to sexual assault, and to support victims after an incident. Bystander intervention shows promise as a strategy to prevent sexual assault, including in schools.  Look out for your friends, family, and even strangers.

How?  If a situation doesn’t look or feel right you could:

1. Safely approach and ask if everything is alright.
2. Use a distraction to separate the potential victim (PV) from potential offender (PO).  Examples:
   • If PV is your friend, ask them to come with you to the restroom because it’s an “emergency”, then leave.
   • Tell PO that their vehicle is being towed or vandalized.
   • Creativity is encouraged! Make sure to keep yourself and PV safe though.
3. Ask someone else to intervene (i.e. security, manager, friend).