Males Do Want to Help

--originally printed in October of 2003

One of the biggest misconceptions about dating and sexual assault awareness is the belief that "most men don't care about this issue, especially young males." As the new school year has begun and I am speaking on college campuses, we are seeing an incredible number of both males and females asking great questions and wanting more information. At the end of presentations, males are buying books at the back of the room in equal volume as the females (on some campuses, more males are buying the book than females). The feedback we are hearing from male and female students is that they are thrilled to have the opportunity to learn about healthy dating, respect, and sexual assault awareness in a forum that encourages both genders to get involved by talking together (instead of just teaching women "self-defense" and only teaching men "No Means No").

If you would like to get more males involved, remember the cliché' "You attract a lot more bees to honey than vinegar." Avoid"attacking" differing views. Welcome them, explore them, and then you have the opportunity to help someone CHANGE their beliefs based on their own thought process. Create an open and healthy environment for males and females to talk with each other and you can be amazed by what they share and learn from each other.