In his first week in office, President Donald Trump issued two executive orders and took other extreme actions to significantly reduce access and protection to abortion and birth control.
Other federal actions, such as the Dear Colleague Letter — which calls on educational institutions to end DEI programs or risk losing their federal funding — and mass firings at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have severely limited access to healthy sexuality education resources on college campuses. It has also hindered efforts to prevent and respond to interpersonal violence.
As members of Northwestern’s Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators, we have already begun to see the devastating impacts of the Trump administration’s actions. While our commitment to supporting the campus community remains unchanged, we must now adapt to shifts in government policies and university approaches to sexuality and violence prevention.
Concerningly, HIV/AIDS resources have been removed from many CDC websites, with a particular focus on erasing information addressing the unique risk factors and prevention methods for LGBTQ+ and BIPOC individuals. As these resources come under attack, SHAPE urges everyone to get tested for HIV, especially as the futures of many federally-funded testing centers remain uncertain. Cook County maintains a page for local HIV testing centers, but The HUB — a one-stop-shop for LGBTQ+ health care services in Chicago — is a good non-governmental option. Practicing safer sex by using barrier methods like external condoms can also dramatically reduce the risk of most sexually transmissible infections.
Additionally, President Trump, on his first day in office, signed an executive order proclaiming that the U.S. government would only recognize two sexes: male and female. This directly discriminates against transgender people by threatening their freedom of self-expression and self-determination. This executive order has also come with cuts to federal and non-federal trans-affirmative sexual violence prevention programs across the nation.
Social identity is deeply connected to experiences of violence, and it is crucial to recognize that women, gender minorities and BIPOC individuals are disproportionately affected by sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking. Prevention and response efforts must address the systemic factors that contribute to violence — factors rooted in the cis-patriarchy, rape culture and white supremacy. Without acknowledging these forces, no program can effectively combat the full scope of the issue.
Given this reality, we are deeply disappointed in the University’s reluctance to recognize these societal structures as key contributors to sexual, relationship and interpersonal violence. We are frustrated with the University’s choice to enforce federal actions that have not yet become law by altering or removing programming pertaining to social identity.
As official campus messaging shifts away from these critical discussions, SHAPE remains committed to addressing the complex social forces that underlie violence. Any meaningful prevention education must include conversations about bias and social power, and we will continue to integrate these discussions into all of our educational materials.
To support students, we have compiled a list of resources that address the root causes of violence — some of which include materials removed by the federal government. We encourage you to explore these resources (available on our Instagram, @nushape) and to remain engaged in the fight for comprehensive, intersectional violence prevention and response.
Respectfully Signed,
Sara Azimipour, Co-Director of SHAPE
Sahil Desai, Co-Director of SHAPE
Cate Bikales, Outreach Chair of SHAPE
Fenn Verrett, Outreach Chair of SHAPE
SHAPE NU (Sexual Health and Assault Peer Educators) is a student-run peer education group that helps increase students’ comfort with sexuality, encourages safer sex practice and promotes prevention and response efforts for sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking. SHAPE leads presentations on topics like supporting survivors, sexual health and healthy relationships to groups and organizations on campus in order to combat rape culture and create an inclusive campus community. They can be reached at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this op-ed, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.
