Preventing violence against women from a male perspective was the focus of the second annual V-Men Workshop held Thursday in the Center for Multicultural Education.    

By allowing only male attendees,  the workshop attempted to create a safe space for men to be introduced to the topics of violence against women and bystanderism. Organizers provided an environment in which men felt free to ask questions they may not have felt comfortable asking if there were women in the room.

During this last week there were many different workshops aimed at violence prevention and safety. There were both female-centric and mixed-gender workshops included.

“This is just one of many efforts by men and women to make this a safer campus,” said Michael Fleming, associate professor of family studies.

This workshop created a place for men to understand violent situations, and also taught peaceful methods of de-escalation to deal with them. 

Instead of just talking about violence within the workshop, it promoted violent free speech as well.

“As a whole, society still doesn’t support men talking about men’s violence against women. And they won’t until we have leaders who speak out and support it,” said Alan Heisterkamp, director of the Center of Violence Prevention.

Within the workshop, the hosts asked questions about the nature of man, including, “Why do men assault?” and “Why do men assault other men who attempt to challenge their violent behavior?” 

“We tried to ask questions that helped to unpack what culture tells us about what it means to be a man,” said Mark Rowe-Barth, associate director of Student Wellness.

According to Heisterkamp, the workshop was comprised of different ways to introduce these topics including stories and mental exercises. In one exercise, called the empathy exercise, men were asked to picture a female loved one. 

They then pictured a terrible act of violence being committed against this loved one. Finally, they imagined a third person, someone who witnesses this act and chooses to do nothing. 

The men were to realize that in many situations, they too could be this bystander. 

The event’s conclusion was, any act of violence committed against any woman is a tragedy because all women are human, whether they are a loved one or not.

“It’s really easy to walk by this issue until it happens to someone you care about, then suddenly it’s an issue,” Rowe-Barth said.