Males Combat Sexual Violence

A few months after its official founding, the Harvard Men Against Rape has attracted a 20-person membership and is co-sponsoring a workshop on sexual violence prevention for college men this semester.

The group—dedicated to raising awareness about sexual violence—has been working with Juan Carlos Arean, a prevention specialist at the Office of Sexual Assault and Response (OSAPR), to plan a training program for undergraduate men on April 17, according to Co-President Matthew H. Eckhouse ’04.

“We’re trying to make a difference in the Harvard community and the community at large,” Eckhouse said.

The group is also involved in helping the OSAPR host a talk by Jackson Katz. Katz is the founder and director of MVP Strategies, an awareness group that provides gender violence prevention training and materials to schools nationwide.

“It’s [an OSAPR] event, but we’re basically going to help them run it,” Eckhouse said.

Harvard Men Against Rape will also lend a hand to this year’s Take Back the Night (TBTN) activities.

The group originally formed when a few TBTN volunteers felt the College lacked an outlet for men to protest sexual violence against women, Eckhouse told The Crimson last September.

Although the group is also against the sexual assault of men, Eckhouse said that his club has not planned activities in reaction to such violence.

He said, however, that this type of sexual violence is “definitely on our radar.”

“Our major focus is violence against women,” Eckhouse said.

—Staff writer Monica M. Clark can be reached at mclark@fas.harvard.edu.