Four female Wisconsin legislators encouraged University of Wisconsin students Wednesday to work collaboratively with UW police to prevent sexual assault on campus.

UW College Democrats hosted the panel discussion featuring Rep. Ann Hraychuck, D-Balsam Lake, Rep. Sandy Pasch, D-Whitefish Bay, Rep. Kelda Helen Roys, D-Madison, and Rep. Donna Seidel, D-Wausau.

The representatives asked students to take responsibility for one another at parties and bars as a first line of defense against sexual assault.

“[Sexual assault] is pervasive, and that it’s still happening today on the University of Wisconsin campus is alarming and how to fight that is very, very difficult, but it’s individual by individual,” Seidel said.

Hraychuck urged students and campus police to engage in a town hall-style meeting to discuss sexual assault prevention and create an open dialogue in wake of recent allegations of sexual assault at the Sigma Chi fraternity.

“I think the first thing that you can take control over is to talk to your campus police department,” Hraychuck said. “That’s an important first step.”

The discussion was part of the College Democrats’ “Sexy Week,” a week of women’s health and sex-related events. Monday College Democrats worked with Sex Out Loud to host a Pleasure One Program and Thursday will screen the movie “Kinsey.”

Sexy Week organizer Molly Rivera said College Democrats traditionally shift their attention to advocacy events like Sexy Week during the second semester.

“We should not just be focused on winning elections,” Rivera said. “I think that we also need to remember why we’re Democrats, the issues that make us Democrats and be advocates of those issues.”

College Democrats of Wisconsin Chair Analiese Eicher presented the ABCs of human papillomavirus during the panel to educate students about HPV transmission.

“[Women’s health] doesn’t get as much attention as the health of our seniors or our children. There’s a whole demographic of women who have a lot of health issues that aren’t necessarily covered, so anything we can do to bring these issues into the light … is very beneficial,” Eicher said.

The panel also included a discussion of sex education and expanded health care coverage for college students. All representatives agreed universal health care is the ultimate goal for Wisconsin’s Democrats.

“Our eye is really on the prize of universal comprehensive health care,” Seidel said.

College Republicans Chair Sara Mikolajczak disagrees, saying universal health care is a “huge problem.”

“It’s not how it’s cracked up to be, and it’s not worth billions of dollars that President Obama wants to spend on it,” Mikolajczak said.

She cited Canada as an example, saying many Canadians cross the border for health care because they believe the United States can offer them better services.

Panel members also promoted legislation that requires schools to incorporate both abstinence and contraceptive education into their sex education curriculums. Seidel cited abstinence-only education as a problem in both public and private school systems.

“Kids aren’t learning appropriate behaviors, and we’re struggling with age-appropriate sex education,” Seidel said.