When the weekend comes along, college students are as excited as ever. They’re ready to go out to bars or house parties and drink the night away. Everyone heads out with their group of friends expecting to have a great time, not a care in the world, until you’re lost at a party and can’t find a single person you know. Being the confident and kind college student you are, you ask the first person that looks trustworthy to you. Never for a second thinking that this is the person you’d unwillingly end up going home with.
For girls, and some guys, the walk of shame is something that will be experienced at least once in your college career. If you’re not joining in this walk of shame, you’re most likely watching from a dorm room window or house porch. We see people in their outfits from the night before or in someone else’s clothes and just assume they had a casual hookup, and never consider the worst when often, that is the case.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in four women reported being raped or surviving an attempted rape on a college campus. You would think that that statistic alone would be enough to rattle the cage of these campuses, but it’s not. This past year, there were 16 girls on my college dance team and according to this statistic, 4 of us will eventually be victimized. We as students know that college campuses will do whatever it takes to cover up sexual assault, especially if it involves a star athlete of the school.
Both girls and boys are often pressured into being compensated rather than testifying against their attacker. Victims are often told that no one will believe them or that they’ll embarrass themselves.
We can’t let this continue; there are thousands of people that will believe you. No matter your gender, race or sexuality or whether you were intoxicated or not, rape is rape.
There is no such thing as consensual and non-consensual sex, there is only sex and rape.
Please don’t let your voice be silenced, know that there are other people out there that have been through this too. Whether someone is telling you that no one needs to know or that the attack was your fault, you need to speak up and speak out. What happened to you was not your fault, don't blame yourself for the actions of someone else. I can say with full confidence that I will stand behind anyone who speaks out about being sexually assaulted, and I would like to think that there are so many others who would do the same.
We need to let those in power know that they can’t silence us. We will continue to stand together and fight this injustice. We cannot be paid off, we will not belittle ourselves for the benefit of an athlete or a professor or an administrator.
Everyone deserves the opportunity to put his or her attacker away.
I encourage any victim who is reading this to speak up if you haven’t already; it’s never too late. Please encourage anyone you know who has been a victim to do the same.
If you would like to seek help, please consider calling the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673). Also search for local or campus resources and support groups in your area.
