The University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (UCCS) published a list of strategies on its website Feb. 18, such as urinating, vomiting, passing gas, and claiming that you are menstruating, in order to deter an attacker during a sexual assault, according to CNN.
UCCS spokesman Tom Hutton said the list was originally published in 2006 with the intention of providing a reminder of last-resort options for women who had taken a Rape Aggression Defence (RAD) course offered by the school.
“The RAD course teaches a number of self-defence options such as awareness of surroundings to increase reaction time, [and] avoidance when possible such as dark areas and risky routes such as alleys,” Hutton said, noting it also teaches defensive resistance techniques like yelling, blowing a whistle, or running away.
“The RAD program is offered at hundreds of colleges in nearly every state,” Hutton said.
It’s also offered at Carleton University, according to the university’s department of university safety website.
Hutton added that RAD teaches that these techniques are “bottom of the barrel” options to use in certain situations, however it is up to the victim to determine when to use these options and their choices should not be questioned.
Katelyn Moyer, a first-year environmental studies student at McGill University, said her initial reaction to the UCCS recommendations was “disgust.”
“If that is my reaction, then that could be the reaction of the perpetrator as well,” Moyer said. “Every scenario is unique, a woman should try a variety of defence strategies if ever put in this situation. A woman should never stop fighting,” Moyer said.
She noted that while some of the tips seem “obscure,” it’s possible that they may still be effective in defending oneself from an attacker.
“I think it’s important for women to keep in mind a variety of safety measures and precautions,” Moyer said. “An assault could happen to anyone at any time, so I would rather be prepared to defend myself.”
Julie Lalonde, a member of the Coalition for a Carleton Sexual Assault Centre, disagreed.
“[These tips] are incredibly misguided, not simply because they place the onus on the victim or potential victim, but they also fail to recognize the reality of sexual assault,” Lalonde said. “People are primarily assaulted in private homes and overwhelmingly by someone they know.”
The strategies suggested by UCCS perpetuate the myth that if a victim follows the right steps, the assailant can be warded off, according to Lalonde.
“Unfortunately, the only surefire way of preventing sexual assault is by not being in the presence of assailants and since there is no way to tell who is and is not an assailant, the onus should stop being placed on women,” Lalonde said.
“If universities want to address sexual violence on their campuses, they must focus on education and communicating the reality of safety on campus, which includes not silencing survivors who want to speak about their experience.”
