Imagine walking home late at night and seeing a group of men in the corner hanging around. They saw you walking by. Then, they get your attention. What would you do in this scenario? How would you get out of it?
Montgomery College students had access to the Sexual Assault Prevention module on Blackboard from April 5 to 29.
Doing the module helped me—and my peers—better understand sexual violence: its consequences, behaviors, language, and how to intervene.
It took me a whole day to work through the entire course—to understand and comprehend each topic, reflect on the questions I responded to, and grasp the weight of this critical real-world issue.
Angela Dawson, the student affairs initiative program coordinator at the college, with educational vendor Vector, wanted to bring this course module to educate and engage MC students in physical wellness and personal safety education regarding sexual assault prevention. Vector also offers training management, online educational courses, and more.
As I went through the module, a few sections stood out to me the most: values, identities, relationships, consent, coercion, and bystander interaction.
I came to understand what consent really means, how coercion comes into play, and how bystanders can react to stop something from escalating. These lessons hit harder when I realized the impact they have on us and the people we care about.
The topic of values, identities, and relationships helped me view a different perspective rather than an academic lecture discussion. I now comprehend the gravity and complexity of values, identities, and relationships, and how certain actions could lead to sexual assault.
One example stuck out to me: three friends were hanging out when one of them mocked someone by saying, “Did you see the way that guy was talking—with his hands on his hips, acting all girly?”
The other two found the comment rude and called him out for it. Seeing their reaction, he realized it wasn’t okay and didn’t say mocking comments like that again.
I started recognizing how small, hypothetical moments tie into bigger conversations about respect and safety. My views on relationships have slightly shifted, especially when I’m with others who make unsettling comments about someone’s gender identity.
The sexual assault prevention course provided a window into learning that I hadn’t been exposed to before.
Unlike a classroom or a panel discussion, it brought awareness to young people, like myself, to understand what sexual violence means, the different issues tied to it, and how it shows up in real-world situations.
Each module challenged me to be more mindful of how behaviors, language, and preventive measures play out in real life.
Dawson hopes students apply the information they learned from the course to their daily lives and encourage themselves to learn self-defense, deal with sexual harassment, learn their rights, how to support and help loved ones, and distinguish between healthy and unhealthy relationships.
“We want students to normalize healthier attitudes and behaviors to have safer relationships,” she said.
The biggest takeaway I got from the module was learning how to recognize uncomfortable situations and having the courage to help protect myself and others. It changed the way I view sexual assault and the different ways it can appear.
Thinking back to that scenario—walking alone at night and being called out by a group of men—I now understand how quickly situations can escalate, and how important it is to stay aware, speak up, and support others when something feels off.
I hope that when students took the course, it brought them a different idea or perspective than what they thought sexual assault is, and what to look for in terms of people’s behaviors and language.
