Second Annual SEXPO Stresses the Importance of Sexual Awareness and Knowledge

Guest speakers included students, graduates, and YouTuber Laci Green

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Popular YouTuber Laci Green spoke as the keynote at KPU’s second annual SEXPO to give her talk titled “Down Rape Culture” on Oct. 25, 2016. (Tommy Nguyen)

Content Warning: This article discusses sexual assault.

For the second year in a row, SEXPO—Sexual Education eXplores Positivity and Openness—offered students at Kwantlen Polytechnic University a chance to talk about sex.

As with last year, the conference was held by the Kwantlen Student Association’s Peer Support Program and dealt with a variety of topics related to sexual identity, health, and consent. A number of KPU students and graduates spoke as part of the day-long conference before the event’s keynote speaker, acclaimed YouTuber and sexual educator, Laci Green, took the stage.

Psychology graduate Tim Byron returned from last year’s SEXPO as a guest speaker, discussing how sexual assault can affect male victims, both hetero and homosexual, cis and transgender. He explained how men often struggle to deal with their assault.

“I’ve read statistics that say 10 per cent of all rapes that happen, happen to men,” said Byron. “However, it is believed that that number is below what it actually is, because the percentage of men who don’t report their rape are higher than women.”

The reason, Byron argues, is that men are often burdened by the stigma that males are supposedly always desirous of sex. Additionally, it’s less likely for men to report an assault if the assailant is also male, as they may feel embarrassed and fear ridicule for being homosexual.

“Police tend to be unsympathetic, uninterested and/or homophobic towards them if they report the incident,” Byron explained. “If the victim is gay, then they are even less likely to be believed and are subjected to further homophobia.”

KPU student Mariam Nahz presented a slideshow that discussed not only her own experience with assault, but also how countries such as India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan deal with sexual assault—specifically with the concept of honour killings. An honour killing is the murder of a woman whose family considers her “immoral” for supposedly committing sexual acts. These acts can vary from posting revealing photos on social media to being the victim of a sexual assault.

Nahz explained that sexual assaults in these countries are rarely reported, and that it is believed that you cannot be raped by your husband. When married women do report rape, they are often jailed for adultery, and when unwed women report rape, they are jailed for having sex outside of marriage.

“[In these kinds of countries] rape is labeled 100 per cent as the victim’s fault,” Nahz said. “In jail, they are further sexually exploited by the police.”

Lastly, Laci Green’s presentation raised awareness of sexual assault injustice, sexual assault on campuses, and discussed what consent is and isn’t.

“My goal when I’m here is to equip people with resources, tools, ideas, and thoughts to take outside of this room and into the world, and create a web of people who are talking about this issue and making changes to society,” said Green.

In her discussion, Green referenced examples such as Brock Turner, Steubenville, and other cases where rapists escaped significant punishment.

“When you look at every hundred [rape] cases, only three perpetrators will actually serve any time,” Green explained.

Green encouraged the audience to speak up and do something about sexual assaults that happen on school campuses. She mentioned that students can push for legislation that would see colleges and universities be compelled to objectively investigate rape reports, act on any findings, and protect the victims throughout the process.

“I talk about rape culture on campuses because I think it is important to raise awareness, and to create a deliberate space for people to come talk about something that is really uncomfortable and controversial, and awkward and painful for some people.”