With increased attention being paid to the issue of sexual assault on campus from the White House on down, a West Virginia University professor will explore male peer support as a risk factor in the issue.

Walter DeKeseredy, Anna Deane Carlson Endowed Chair of Social Sciences and director of the WVU Research Center on Violence, will present “Patriarchal Male Peer Support for Violence against Women,” at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 5, in Elizabeth Moore Hall on the downtown campus.

During the presentation, which is free and open to the public, DeKeseredy will explore how male peer support is a major risk factor in situations turning violent, and discuss possible solutions.

In most college cases of domestic violence or sexual assault, DeKeseredy said, individuals that abuse their partners are surrounded by a group of friends with the same ideals and morals, which justifies the actions and motivates the abuser.

“These men don’t sexually or physically assault for their own pleasure, they belong to peer groups with high sexual activity,” DeKeseredy said.

In 1988, DeKeseredy announced male peer support theory, which popularized the notion that certain all-male peer groups encourage, justify and support the abuse of women in intimate relationships. Today, after 25 years of research, numerous studies from a diverse range of fields and practitioners support the original claim, providing a powerful explanation for the mechanism that underlies much of North America’s violence against women.

WVU recently launched It’s on Us, its participation in a national campaign designed to engage the entire campus community in prevention, spread the message that the University does not tolerate sexual misconduct and point those who have faced an assault toward campus resources.

For more information, please contact Walter DeKeseredy at Wsdekeseredy@mail.wvu.edu or at 304-293-8846.

-WVU-

jm/2/4/15

CONTACT: Devon Copeland; Eberly College of Arts and Sciences
304-293-6867; Devon.Copeland@mail.wvu.edu

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