This past Saturday, I was enjoying a night out with my girls in celebration of summer. The night started out like any other night — we crammed into a single bathroom each trying to find mirror space while diligently trying on everything we owned in hopes of finding the perfect outfit. We paraded around Midtown like we owned it, had a couple of drinks, and danced like our lives depended on it.
Once the night concluded, we huddled in laughter as a girl stumbled toward us with a lurking guy hot on her heels (literally). I shooed away the guy while my friends aided the girl. Let's call her Jane. Jane got separated from her group of friends, couldn't get in contact with them, and needed to get home. While we briefly considered calling an Uber, we decided against it. How could we trust a stranger to get her home safely? Thankfully, it didn't take long for our designated driver to show up and save the day. We piled into the car and got to know Jane in the 25 minutes it took to drive her home. We learned of her horrible ex, that she attended a neighboring university, and listened to her funny stories from earlier that night. We watched as she staggered to her door and waited until she was safely behind locked doors.
We all smiled on our way home and sighed in relief that we were able to help Jane. However, I sat saddened by what could've been the alternative ending to her night. What if we hadn't taken her home? What if we hadn't shooed away the strange man? What if she hadn't asked us for help? The possibilities were endless and ran rampant in my head.
Rape culture is a very serious and a prominent dilemma, especially among young adults. As a society, we must not only educate people against this but take a stand and learn to intervene. A bystander intervention is all it takes to make and be the difference in someone's life. There are so many simple measures to help stop rape culture. Be alert, be aware, and have a voice. Maybe people are afraid to overstep, cross boundaries, or won't help because "they don't know the person." Nonetheless, it's safer to be overly cautious than ignore your moral compass.
Moral of this whole story: Be the help if you can. Don't pass along the responsibility in hopes that someone else will step in and help.
