WASHINGTON — In a push to reduce sexual violence on campuses nationwide, a conference hosted at American University this weekend is teaming up with a high school to introduce the topic to teens.
Some parents and students at Bethesda’s Walt Whitman High School will spend Saturday night confronting a difficult topic.
After a screening of the documentary “The Hunting Ground,” clinical psychologist Lizbeth Moses says, she’ll join a panel of experts discussing the film’s topic — the prevalence of campus sexual assault — with students and parents.
“I’m expecting parents are going to challenge the frequency this occurs and whether there’s anything they can do, as parents, to prevent college rape or college assault,” she says.
Moses is active in the high school community and served as chairwoman of the school’s stress-buster committee. She says she knows that, like other tough topics parents have taken on before, the conversation from the Courage to Fight Violence Against Women conference will continue in the community.
“We’re definitely going to drill in the lesson with the high school kids that alcohol and drugs can really interfere with making decisions about where you are and who you are with,” she says.
Organizers plan to offer another showing and discussion of the sold-out film.
Watch a preview for the film below:
