Department of Prevention Education

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 and safe 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.

The Department of Prevention Education strives to:

• Promote healthy sexual attitudes and behaviors, encourage enthusiastic consent, and the ability to pursue pleasure for its own sake for all students (Hedgepeth & Helmich, 1996, p. 2). 
• Encourage students to honor the personal choices and orientations of others, including those who have sex and those who do not have sex.
• Challenge students to embrace a growth mindset, which includes seeing 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.
• Equip students with the knowledge and tools to be able to recognize and intervene in cases of sexual, gender, and relationship-based violence.

Follow Prevention Education on Instagram: @preventionedu