Who We Are

The Department of Prevention Education serves the students of Muhlenberg College by providing educational offerings relating to healthy sexuality, sexual and intimate partner violence prevention and response, and promotes a culture of nurturance across the campus for people of all genders and sexual orientations, whether partnered or single. We partner with on- and off-campus organizations and resources to foster a sense of integration and wholeness with respect to sexuality. We believe in choice, integrity, respect, safety, and well-being for ourselves and for those in and around our community.

Mission Statement:

The Department of Prevention Education supports healthy exploration of sexuality while working to end sexual, gendered, and intimate partner violence. We utilize a Socio-Ecological health promotion model that is both preventative and restorative in nature, supporting students’ physical health, personal safety, and overall sense of emotional well-being, while facilitating an intentional and responsive community who cares for one another.

Department Goals:

The Department of Prevention Education seeks to create a cultural climate in which students feel emboldened to explore their own sexual agency and wholeness while respecting the bodily autonomy of others. For Prevention Education, success means that all students are safe from gender, sexual, and relationship violence.

This is done by:

• Promoting healthy sexual attitudes and behaviors, encouraging enthusiastic consent, and the ability to pursue pleasure for its own sake (Hedgepeth & Helmich, 1996, p. 2). 
• Honoring the personal choices and orientations of all students, including those who have sex and those who do not have sex.
• Embracing a growth mindset, challenging ourselves to see those who may unknowingly cause harm as being capable of learning, while addressing the needs of survivors so that they can heal and feel whole.
• Equipping students with the knowledge and tools to be able to recognize and intervene in the cases of sexual, gender, and relationship-based violence.

Read about Prevention Education in The Muhlenberg Weekly!

Contact

e: julespurnell@muhlenberg.edu

p: 484.664.3186