Founding Director of the Rape Aggression Defense Program Lawrence Nadeau urged an audience of about 30 people, mostly women, in Collis Common Ground last night to take action against sexual assault, kicking off Sexual Assault Awareness Week at the College.
Earlier in life, Nadeau witnessed domestic violence in his own home -- his father beat his mother. This experience was one of the reasons why he founded RAD.
"My admiration for my mother is unending, and her experience further makes me committed to speaking against violence towards women," he said.
Nadeau directed his message to both the women and "the good men" in the audience.
He defined the self-empowerment women need to fight and the role of men in challenging sexual assault. "Ninety percent of empowerment comes from awareness and risk reduction," he said.
He stressed the importance for women "to make intelligent decisions for themselves" versus reliance on physical defense.
Gadgets including pepper sprays and personal alarms can sometimes produce the opposite effect by further provoking the attacker, Nadeau said.
"Society includes good and bad men," and the "good men," can contribute to RAD if they are willing to step up and be proactive, he said.
Nadeau said he was frightened when he "imagined himself in the position of a woman" in a world made up of males, a more aggressive and powerful gender.
He quoted Susan B. Anthony, who inspired him when she said, "It is only through wholesome discontent with some things before we try to make it better."
He said he was also inspired to speak out on violence against women after reading "Against Our Will" by Susan Brown.
"It shocked me to realize that at some point in her life, an average women fears for her safety," Nadeau said.
Following his speech, Nadeau responded to many questions from the audience.
One student asked about the risks women take when they choose to go to fraternities.
Nadeau said it is "inevitable that you compromise safety to be socially active." However, one "can identify which fraternities are sensitive to women's issues and attend those."
Currently, RAD is a self defense program that includes the participation of both sexes and takes place at over 400 colleges in the United States and Canada.
Nadeau's speech is the first of the "Tools to Create Change" series during Sexual Assault Awareness Week that ends Friday.
Tonight at 7 p.m. in 105 Dartmouth Hall, the Parliamentary Debate Club is sponsoring a debate about having a policy at Dartmouth that requires students to obtain explicit consent to engage in sexual activity with one another like the policy passed at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio in 1994.
On Wednesday at 7 p.m. in 105 Dartmouth, Laura Luciano will speak about how she sought justice when she was raped her freshman year at Rutgers University.
Other events this week include a Clothesline Project on display in the Hopkins Center, a sexual assault workshop at 4 p.m. Thursday in the Women's Resource Center and a Take Back the Night candlelight vigil beginning on the patio in front of the Hop that same evening.
