Educational Content

• Consent is freely given without force, threat, or coercion. It is also retractable and can be withdrawn at any time.
• Consent is informed; STI/STD status should be disclosed, contraception method should be agreed upon, and all parties are conscious and willing. Consent is specific and an ongoing conversation about each activity.

• If someone comes to you with their story of surviving sexual assault, it is an honor. They are showing how much they trust you and value your place in their life. It is important to remember this when going forward and supporting them.
• You may want to ask questions about what happened, or spring into action and make decisions, but that could actually do more harm than good. Check out these helpful tips!

Toxic masculinity often refers to harmful behaviors, attitudes, and expectations associated with traditional notions of masculinity. It includes but is not limited to traits such as:

1. Aggression.
2. Emotional suppression.
3. Devaluation of anything considered feminine or LGBTQIA+.

These expectations can lead to harmful outcomes for both men and society, perpetuating violence, sexism, and discrimination.

It's important to address and challenge these norms to promote healthier expressions of masculinity and create a more equitable society. Toxic masculinity does not mean that all masculinity is bad, it means that society often puts pressure on men to perform a certain way that can be harmful to themselves or others leading it to be toxic.

• Trust and honesty: Partners should feel safe and confident that they will not be hurt or violated. partners should be open and willing to discuss both good and bad news and big decisions together. They respect each other even if they disagree, without having to worry about one getting upset or angry.
• Independence: Independence can include having your own separate friends, trying new hobbies, or setting healthy boundaries.
• Healthy conflict: No one is healthy all of the time. Sometimes partners do have conflict, but it is important that the conflict is handled in a healthy way. Partners should be open and honest, listen to one another, and work together to solve problem
• Respect: Respect reflects how you and your partner treat each other daily. Partners should be able to accept each other for who they are, their differences and encourage each other to grow in a healthy and respectful manner that takes into account all aspects of their identities.
• Responsibility: Partners should be able to take responsibility for mistakes and demonstrate that you can safely be honest, open, and vulnerable which encourages them to do the same.
• Equality: In relationships with equality, the power and decision making is shared evenly with neither partner trying to "be in charge" of the other. Effort towards the relationship should also feel even and balanced.
• Consent: Consent is permission given freely that is retractable, informed, and specific. It is important to know your body belongs to you and no one else. Your partner should not try to pressure or guilt you into doing anything you do not want, suggest that you owe them something, react negatively when you do not consent, or ignore your indications that you do not consent, including both verbal and nonverbal cues.

Stalking is defined as a course of conduct (meaning more than two instances) directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to feel fear.

Stalking is a crime of power and control that often causes the survivor to unsafe, like they are being watched, like they have to "look over their shoulder" constantly, and like their life has been interrupted.

Stalking can be contextual and personal to the survivor, meaning stalking perpetrators often utilize personal information, fears, blackmail, past threats and conversations, and other things that they know will harm the survivor. These things don't always look scary to third parties, but once the history and context of the incident and the stalker are known, the threat is clearer. Therefore, it is crucial to believe stalking survivors when they say they are fearful and take them seriously.

While stalking is different in each case, many stalking behaviors fall into the following categories:

• Surveillance: Watching, gathering information through in-person or online means, utilizing tracking software, showing up unexpectedly at locations someone frequents, etc.
• Life Invasion: Repeatedly showing up in someone's life unwanted, repeated unwanted phone calls, texts, DMs etc., making multiple social media accounts to continue contact if a previous account has been blocked, harassing the victim's loved ones, unwanted gifts, etc.
• Intimidation: Threats, forced confrontations (i.e. blocking the hallway until the victim has no choice but to talk to the stalker), damaging property, harming pets, blackmail, using one's identities against them (i.e. outing an LGBTQ+ person at their job without their permission), etc.
• Interference: Sabotaging the victim's reputation, public humiliation, starting rumors to cause social problems for the victim, sharing explicit images of the victim without consent, interfering with medical care, interfering with housing, stealing, physical and sexual attacks, etc.

Source: Law Enforcement Tips: SLII Behaviors

At the back desk of the Hollis Center PACT has two shelves with several resources available to you for free. Typically a Program Lead will also be in the area if you have any further questions.