Description and Goals

Organizing a webinar about the scope of sexual assault for grade 10 students aiming to raise awareness on how sexual assault can be more than physical as well as aid these MYP5 students understand and stand up against sexual assault as they get introduced to new environments and relationships in the IBDP years followed by university. By covering all the ways sexual assault could occur within communities and relationships I would like individuals to reflect on their past experiences and current relationships which I hope will drive these individuals to protect themselves and advocate against sexual abuse. During my presentation, I will cover topics such as what is sexual assault, sexual assault in relationships, consent, psychological manifestations of sexual assault, and possible help options for victims. Afterward, a

guest speaker will come in and give a speech on gender stereotypes, consent, sexism, and modern relationships. In addition, I will add some mental health cues that can help a person who has been a victim seek help, how to help a peer who is a victim, or avoid sexual assault to a certain extent. Offering students insight on possible help options within our community in OSC and in Srilanka.

 

The sexual assault seminar took place on April 29th during an advi

sory session for 10 th grade. During my presentation, I explained different types of sexual assault such as verbal (catcalling, sexual jokes, etc.), physical (penetration, groping, inappropriate touching, or any sexual activity conducted while one party is intoxicated or non-conscious), and lastly emotional to physical sexual assault (coercion, manipulation, incest, and molestation). Followed by how to identify sexual assault in a relations

hip and explaining what is consent. I emphasized the three very important bases of consent, being transparent and communicative, consent being active and having the right to withdraw it at any point, and lastly consent to be voluntary without being incapacitated. Then I explored the psychological manifestations of sexual assault and its consequences on future relationships. As a group, we discussed how victims could experience PTSD, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and more. Lastly, I discussed the possible help in our community and what to do if such an exper

ience takes place. Starting with our school community I stated the school policy and how OSC would deal with these issues and how can one deal with such traumatic issues as an individual. I provided a variety of online links and phone numbers of high commissions/embassies and the

police in Srilanka which can all help legally or provide mental health services. To assess the learnings of the students I put together an interactive activity at the end that explored further consent. At the very end, my guest speaker Ms. Jayanthi Kuru-Utumpala was the first person to climb Mountain Eeveret from Srilanka and a key member of Sri Lanka’s women’s movement that has co-created a website called “Delete Nothing” an online platform aimed at documenting technology-related violence in Sri Lanka. She discussed what type of gender stereotypes she faced about being a female before and during her journey to summit Mount Everest as well as how such stereotypes lead to sexism and often sexual assault as many men look down upon women. She discussed feminism and how modern relationships induce new types of sexual assault on some victims, such as online sexual harassment and divulging private photos online. Overall the seminar was a success in educating these students as well as keeping them engaged throughout the seminar. Although there were some challenges such as my guest speaker arriving late and challenges in arranging a large enough space to execute the seminar, they were overcome successfully. During my project, my classmate helped me with technical aspects of my presentation such as changing the slides, playing videos, and being responsible for the sound.

Throughout the planning and execution of this seminar, I have fulfilled many IB learning outcomes.

LO1- Strength & Growth:

I had only done and planned one seminar before which was with a group of people, however for my CAS project I had to plan by myself. Therefore I believe I have improved my skills in public speaking as well as my planning skills as I had to deal with the details of the event by myself. Overall I strengthened my planning skills as I emailed and found the guest to speak myself and arrange the place of the event. I think this skill will help me greatly in the future as I improved my skills to host and plan events by myself as well as consider every little detail by myself aiding me in becoming a more independent person than I was before this project.

LO3- Initiative & Planning:

After I had come up with the idea for this seminar, I had to email the advisors of 10 th graders and arrange a time that works both for me, the advisors, and my guest speaker which was challenging but after a few meetings and emails, I was able to settle a date. I later had to find an impactful guest speaker that could present information, I had to conference with my Girls for Girls service founder and research possible female figures that have made an impact on women’s rights and taken a stance against sexual assault in Srilanka. Once I found the person I would like to invite to my seminar, I got in touch with her to ask if she would be willing to come to our campus for this seminar. Once all the dates and guest speaker was arranged I had to plan where to conduct the seminar and find a person that could help me with technical stuff during the presentation. As I planned for this seminar and presented it my planning skills really improved and I initiated activities that have helped me fulfill and reflect on this learning outcome effectively.

LO4- Collaborative Skills:

Throughout the process of planning this seminar, I had to work collaboratively with a few individuals. I mostly worked collaboratively with my guest speaker as we gave speeches that complement and complete each other in a way that addresses all umbrella topics of gender stereotypes, sexism, feminism, sexual assault, and consent. We collaborated on creating our slides for the seminar as well as creating some activities together for the students. I also collaborated with my classmate who did all my tech work which helped me recognize how working adapting such collaborative skills makes executing such projects easier. If I did not collaborate with my classmate I would have had a lot of trouble setting up my sound and changing the slides while presenting. Collaborative skills made the execution of my seminar better as well as made the process easier. I demonstrated active collaboration with other individuals to carry out my CAS project as well as realize the benefits of collaborative skills.

LO6- Global Engagement:

I demonstrated engagement with an issue of global significance as I addressed sexual assault which is a large problem all around the globe. As statistics demonstrate sexual assault is very prevalent in our current world for men and women, due to the sensitive content of such an issue it is not often discussed openly or exposed to some school kids. With 1 in 6 women being a victim of sexual assault and even more in Srilanka with 1 in 3 women being a victim of attempted or completed rape. Due to such high rates, I believe addressing such issues and educating the next generation as much as possible about consent to do my part in trying to prevent and stand up against sexual assault.

LO 7- Ethics of Choices & Actions:

Due to COVID-19 and online learning, many teens missed out on lof seminars and advisory sessions that address such topics. Therefore creating a seminar accompanied by a presentation and a guest speaker can teach these students who have not had the opportunity to learn about these issues. Due to the sensitiveness of this topic, it also comes along with ethics of choices of actions, throughout the seminar I made sure there was no disrespect towards victims and ensured the students that they may leave at any point if they feel uncomfortable. I also made sure to emphasize victims of such trauma are not alone and that there is always help available in our community. I found links that offer free consoling online and information on how to take legal actions in Srilanka. To make the most ethical choices during this seminar I made sure to provide help (send the links via email to the students, information on what the school body can do and how to take legal action) and make sure if there is anyone who has been a victim in the audience feels safe and not victim-blamed at any point.