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ASM hosts town-hall meeting to discuss sexual assault
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The Associated Students of Madison hosted a town-hall meeting Thursday night with panelists who addressed the connection between sexual assault and alcohol in Wisconsin and on campus.
“Alcohol is not an intoxicant under Wisconsin law [of sexual assault],” said Ald. Tom Powell, District 5, one of the panelists. “DAs have accounted cases where defense lawyers can prove if [a woman] was capable of mumbling a few words or moving legs, she’s not unconscious,” Powell said.
Under current Wisconsin statues, it is illegal to have sex with someone who is unconscious, or with someone who is incapacitated to the degree where he or she can not express informed consent due to a physical condition or intoxication, Powell said. Under this law, alcohol is the only drug not included in the intoxicant category.
Other panelists included ASM Women’s Issues Liaison Angela Bartucci, founder of Promoting Awareness Victim Empowerment; Lori Henn, University Health Services representative and prevention coordinator; and Austin King, Men Opposing Sexual Assault legislative issues coordinator.
Powell said the sexual assault bill proposed by Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, co-sponsored by Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, and Senate President Fred Risser, D-Madison, will put alcohol back on the list of intoxicants that can potentially incapacitate a sexual assault victim.
“It all comes down to our culture and how we approach alcohol, especially in Wisconsin,” Powell said.
The meeting also featured a discussion of the culture of alcohol use and sexual assault on the UW-Madison campus.
King spoke about men promoting sexual conquest as a facet of “masculinity,” and how MOSA was trying to redefine this concept.
“To be a man is not to go out and score; to be a man is to respect,” King said. “As long as sex is in this game of conquest, alcohol is a tool.” King talked about a poster he saw in a bathroom stall stating, “You hold the power to stop rape in your hands.” He encouraged “planting seeds of thought” in this way.
ASM Campus Safety Campaign Coordinator Erica Tietze, in conjunction with Angela Bartucci and PAVE, have already launched an on-campus poster project this semester. More posters, which will be posted in restaurants and bars, are expected in the coming month.
UHS Representative Lori Henn said in a survey done in 1995 at UW that one out of eight women have had unwanted sex while being a UW student and 47.1 percent of women at UW have had some kind of unwanted sexual violation.
Even with such overwhelming occurrences, few cases are reported. Henn said there were only 58 reports last year. She said she believes assault victims fear the consequences of admitting drinking underage; however, this is a misconception.
“The practice of the university has not been to prosecute for underage drinking,” Henn said. “They also put the victim in the driver’s seat, allowing the victim to direct all actions taken.
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