“You Don’t Have To Forgive OR Forget” — Pitt-Greensburg Welcomes Speaker Helen Shepard

Wednesday, Feb. 28, the Gender and Sexuality Alliance (GSA) and the Criminal Justice club (CJ) will host doctor of human sexuality, Helen Shepard, in Village Hall 118 from 12-1: p.m. Shepard’s topics encompass sexual assault survivorship, sexual health and pleasure, and the healing process that follows.

On Engage, students may notice the event description as “a shame-free conversation, open to all.” GSA President Rachel O’Neill says that Shepard may also adapt the event to the tone of their audience.

“The goal is for it to be more discussion based, but Helen is prepared to do both a discussion or a presentation,” O’Neill says. “It depends on reading the room, if people are willing to speak on personal experiences. The goal is for it to be open-ended, to talk about how certain people have dealt with different things, and what works for them.”

O’Neill believes in the impact of sensitive conversations like this one, and found specific interest in this topic among members of GSA.

“I think it can be very eye opening in a couple different ways. There might be students who just weren’t informed on the topic or how often it might actually occur, especially within the college group,” O’Neill says. “There are also those who have been sexually assaulted, maybe not realizing up until this point that that is what happened to them — it’s important to be able to put a name to it and realize that there are resources for them to heal.”

Sydney Spino, vice president of GSA, agrees on the importance of Shepard’s topic for a college audience.

“We have BlackBurn Center come in and talk about sexual assault and their resources, and we have the Sex Discussed Here to talk about sex, but this kind of bridges that gap if you were assaulted, how you can overcome that and still have sexual pleasure after a traumatic experience,” Spino says.

Alongside forgiveness and sexual pleasure, Shepard will also address “toxic positivity culture.” For those who haven’t heard the term, Erin Engle, a doctor in psychology with Forbes Health explains that toxic positivity “refers to an intense or enduring pressure to be happy, often through maintaining a positive outlook, no matter how difficult or troubling the circumstances.”

Toxic positivity is something that can affect anyone, and both Spino and O’Neill found this pressure to be a part of their emotional experience.

“I never really had a name for it, but that’s definitely been my outlook on life — just to ignore what is going on,” Spino says.

“I definitely struggle with thinking that I have to portray everything how society expects, and I kind of act like I don’t have feelings about some things,” O’Neill says. “And that does lead to negative coping — a lot of built-up feelings.”

O’Neill believes that their collaboration with CJ club is a significant educational aspect of this event.

“CJ is a really active club, and the new professor, Dr. Swope, teaches a class on sexual assault,” O’Neill says. “For a lot of the CJ club members and majors, especially if you’re going into policing, it’s something to learn about.”

O’Neill refers to the course “Issues of Sexual Assault and Rape” taught by the assistant professor of Criminal Justice, Dr. Katie Swope.

Regardless of major or career influences, O’Neill wants this event to provide a sincere and open space for students to talk about sexual assault in a secure way.

“I just hope students find a comfortable environment to discuss and learn about such a sensitive topic. I think there needs to be more safe places to have these conversations, other than just small clubs like GSA or La Femme,” O’Neill says. “I want them to be more open to campus, and more involved.”

Spino hopes that students can find relatability and their own sense of hope through Shepard’s discussion.

“My main hope is to show to those who have experienced sexual assault that not all future experiences are going to be negative,” Spino says. “You can experience sex in a healthy way, and it’s a learning process, but it’s possible. And that you’re not not alone — that there are other people who have experienced it, or who can provide help.”

In addition to their presentation on Wednesday, Shepard is also working with the Pitt-Greensburg theater department on the production of Fun Home, providing cast training for LGBT+ sensitivity and awareness. If you are interested in attending Shepard’s event, you can RSVP on Engage here.