Editor’s note: This article may contain disturbing content not suitable for children and/or those who are survivors of sexual or domestic violence.

ELLSWORTH — In 1989, when Mike Domitrz was in college, he received a phone call. On the call, his sister informed him that she had been raped.

Domitrz decided he needed to speak out, founding The Center for Respect to educate thousands of people on intimacy, consent and helping protect survivors.

“I tried to handle it internally. It’s one of the cruelest things we can do to ourselves sometimes,” Domitrz said. “I finally recognized, wait, I can’t reverse what happened, none of us can, but there’s a lot I can do to make sure this never happens to another human being in this world. I was 19 when I had that light bulb moment in my life, not that much older than some of you in this room.”

Ellsworth High School students got the chance to hear from Domitrz on Thursday with the core message being “Can I Kiss You?”

Domitrz gave a scenario of a date and how people believe there is a look their partner is giving them when they are interested in a kiss. He asked a student volunteer to show what face they would make in that situation, and he said each time he asks, people give different looks.

This is where the “Can I Kiss You?” message comes in, as simply asking the question saves a potentially disastrous miscommunication. A common reason people said they would go for a kiss rather than asking is the fear of rejection, but Domitrz countered by saying if they do not want it, the answer will be no whether you ask or not.

Another scenario he laid out was somebody trying to take a drunk person home to engage in sexual activities. Often, people refer to it as taking advantage of someone; however, Domitrz said when people call it sexual assault like it is, they are significantly more inclined to put a stop to it.

“When you call it what it is, no one in this room can deny the responsibility to do something,” Domitrz said.

Next, the students shared reasons they feel it is important to intervene when they see that behavior. One answer in particular stood out to Domitrz.

“I’m going to intervene because it’s who I am,” Domitrz said.

“Will you ever regret stopping sexual assault yes or no? Never. You’ll never regret it,” Domitrz said. “Could you regret not taking action and finding out the next morning something happened that you couldn’t justify?”

The definition of consent is commonly miconstrued, according to Domitrz. He said many people say it means getting permission. Domitrz compared it to people getting permission from their friends or parents to do something even if they did not fully agree.

“They always say consent is getting someone’s permission. That is an awful definition,” Domitrz said. “Healthy consent is mutually wanted.”

After each of the presentations Domitrz does at schools, there is a survey the students fill out. Results have shown 91% of students say they will ask first, support survivors and intervene.

“It doesn’t matter what you think right now in this room, it matters what you do about it,” Domitrz said.

For resources or more information, visit RAINN.org.