Hailey, a warrior, daughter and amazing friend, refused to allow the University of Indiana-Bloomington to silence her. Being coaxed into blame, Hailey's injustice was essentially dismissed. The prosecutor and other members of the case did all they could to ensure her rapist would walk free. To top their undying effort to ensure the guilty rapist would go unnoticed, the person originally assigned to Hailey's case is currently. and was at the time, undergoing sexual assault charges against his own persons. The University of Indiana Bloomington, prosecutors and other members of the case took responsibility to blame the victim, dismiss the victim and blatantly allowed for a severe breach of safety for not only Hailey, but all other campus members. The University allows rapists to be clear of all penalty. Please be aware the University of Indiana Bloomington and our judicial system has shown a high tolerance for rapists and a rather high disregard for the safety and well-being of their students and populous.

"But you're not listening to me," I replied, my voice never wavering. "It wasn't consensual. Plus, I was drunk. You can't legally consent when you're drunk."

Q: What college do you now attend and major are you?

I now attend Indiana University South Bend for social work. I want to work with children and survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and the like.

Q: How is your new school? What are some of the biggest changes when transferring?

I absolutely adore IUSB. I am much happier being here, where my long- time friends and family are. The biggest changes when I transferred were that I had to get a job to buy a new car, since there isn’t much public transportation around here. I also moved in with my boyfriend, which is a dramatic change from living with a roommate in a small dorm; or in the latter case of my first semester, a small dorm alone. He also has a 4-year old son, so that was a huge change when I moved back home. Falling in love with those two definitely were the biggest changes, other than being back, closer to my family.

Having a focus on love has helped with the transition.

Q: To draw back to the incident that caused the transfer, what impact has this scenario had your life?

This has been such a huge life event. I have become a huge advocate for survivors and victims of crimes much like the one that happened to me. I’ve gotten national attention, and a lot less retaliation than I thought I would get from those reading my story.

I waited around three months to tell the police what had happened. I had been to therapy and my therapist uncovered the secret and was liable to tell someone because I was a minor at the time of the offense.

Q: Could you give us a bit of background into what currently is going on with the case? How it’s been pursued?

I was raped at a fraternity recruiting event less than a month after starting my freshman year of college… that’s still so surreal to me. I can say it, but it feels unreal coming out of my mouth; almost like a foreign language. I reported my assault to IU Bloomington, which is where I was attending school when I was raped. I also reported it to the IUPD, who decided not to press charges. They did not believe in anyway the rape was eligible for a report. After five months, there was a conference held by the school, where I was essentially blamed and he was found not responsible for the crime he committed. I then decided to draft and file a Title IX and Cleary Act Complaint against IU Bloomington for their lack of procedure during the investigation. I was just notified by the Office of Civil Rights that they are investigating my case.

Q: Is there something that you noticed wrong with the way the situation was handled on your university’s end? How could it have been improved? Is the University of Indiana Bloomington a safe place for women?

There are countless things wrong with the way the situation was handled. First and foremost, I requested a protective order and somehow, it was never granted. That was the first way that they ensured my safety would continue to be at risk. The university then also took five months to complete the investigation. The university is legally required to have the investigation done within 60 days (OCR and Title IX). I was also charged various fees for dropping classes, adding classes and changing my dorms, which I was told I wouldn’t be charged for, as they were changed for my safety and well-being, two qualities the university continued to dismiss. Even further, I had to consult an attorney to get these fees revoked. I had some professors not willing to work with me to keep up in my classes, which caused some W's on my transcript: Not good for a first semester, first-year student.

All of these things and more can be improved by IU Bloomington simply following Title IX guidelines and not perpetrating rape culture and victim blaming. I think that Indiana University Bloomington is safe for women. I think that there are people on the campus, however, who make it less safe because they don’t intervene or take procedure seriously when a crime is committed. They need to do their jobs correctly when crimes are committed, as it does affect the safety and well-being of the students.

Q: What are your thoughts on victim-shaming? I know many women don't speak out due to unfortunate and unethical extreme societal consequences and pressures.

Haha, you of all people know that I refuse to be silenced. I was asked some victim-blaming questions, but I think some of those questions were simply part of the investigation to prove that he raped me…which he was found not responsible for. For example, I was asked how much I had to drink. The entire investigation was based on how much I had to drink, and if it was apparent to the other people at this party that I was intoxicated. They were relentless in blaming me for his rape.

I was also victim-blamed by the school on various occasions. They tried to charge me for moving dorms. I moved dorms because I wasn’t safe in my dorm, as my rapist told me and another friend of mine, prior in the night, that he was and would be living in my dorm. To remind you, I was not granted a no-contact order against my rapist. Their disregard and harassment is nothing short of victim-blaming. Instead of moving me for free, as they should after a crime was committed against me, they then charged me, dismissed me and basically said, “Hey, you gotta pay to get yourself out of this situation that we are saying you put yourself in.”

I think that instead of victim-shaming and allowing for rapists to consistently walk free, we should (and I do, since I had my own experience with this tragedy) say, “I believe you. Tell me what happened when you are ready and report it, if you decide to do so.”

Q: To any victims who have been shamed, what's a tip for overcoming that hurdle?

I hate to bring this out in the media, but most people don’t know that what they're saying is victim-blaming, because it's been embedded into their brains to blame women for being a victim of rape since we were very little. It's important to remain mindful when approaching the topic of rape. My mom and dad asked me some victim-blaming questions when I was home for break after the incident, and I just stopped talking to them. I wouldn’t answer because they didn’t understand that what they were saying was victim-blaming. I showed them “The Hunting Ground” film and sent them some papers from psychologists about rape culture and victim-blaming, and they understood.

When you’re dealing with these questions or actions, you have to be calm. I know that’s hard when you’ve been through it, but if you’re not calm, then your point won’t get across. My mom and dad asked me, “What are you going to do to prevent this from happening again?” and I had to explain to them that I didn’t do anything wrong. People need to stop raping!

The only fucking thing that can prevent rape is a fucking rapist not committing fucking rape -- words from yours truly

Q: What can be improved on the way that rape and sexual assault cases are handled both through campus and federally?

I think that when a school is notified that someone has been assaulted, they need to contact the police immediately. University officials are not trained to deal with these things, as we have seen in over thousands of cases; they aren’t equipped to any way handle a crime. They need to pair with law enforcement to ensure that the perpetrator is kept off school grounds and is punished by law.

Q: What can society do to help prevent from creating and protecting rapists? Where have you noticed rape culture and what is your response to the heinous outlook?

Stop rape culture. Stop victim-blaming. It's everywhere. Every high school has it with a dress code that tells women that their shoulders or legs distract their fellow students. The idea that women have to take pepper spray with them and rape whistles with them when they go out alone to fend off would-be attackers. Workplaces that tell women they can’t walk to their cars alone at night because they could get attacked. These are some of the most widely known examples of rape culture. It's appalling to me that, as a female, I am seen weaker than a man just because of my sex. Rape culture is a real thing and I have no words for how offended it makes me.

Q: What helps victims rebuild confidence and happiness after a rapist has tried to strip it away?

Personally, I had to find comfort. I have PTSD and depression following the attack, plus longstanding anxiety from high school. I lost interest in everything following my attack. I won’t lie and say that I didn’t do other things, like drink alcohol, to escape what happened to me. I had to find those happy things again. Loving yourself and continuing to pursue love and happiness helps ease the pain.

I changed my major to a major where I know that I can help other survivors, because mostly, my therapy has helped me. I also wanted to ensure safety for other victims. I had to learn to love myself and others again and to not see everyone as a threat. I found myself watching a lot of "Gossip Girl" and "One Tree Hill" because those characters faced real life situations, unlike, say, "Family Guy" or "Game of Thrones."

I read a lot. A lot of poetry, a lot of news. I like to keep myself in focus with the world, because if I don’t, then I dwell on what happened to me. I drive a lot to clear my head, with my radio loud. It's so easy to get lost in what happened when it comes to things like this. When I catch myself thinking about a specific moment, like the moment that he left the room with me behind, I have to bring myself back to reality. If I don’t, then I will drive myself crazy thinking about what I couldn’t do, rather than what I am doing. I did nothing wrong that night. He raped me. If there are other survivors feeling like it's your fault, please, don’t drive yourself crazy blaming yourself for his crime. It was not your fault. It is not your fault.

Q: Why do you believe rape victims are mocked in this country? Do we have bigger societal reforms to take about? If so, what would society need to change to ensure the immediate response is not backlash?

I believe that rape victims are mocked in this country because people don’t believe that these things happen until they do. They're also mocked because they're women, and women are often blamed when they're a victim of rape. Rape culture is a huge reform and is necessary. However, it goes so much deeper than just anyone believes. and it's entangled in the web of disregard for humanity. There needs to be a huge reform on almost every level our lives, including interpersonal opinions of one's self. Mainstream media rape culture, their constant victim blaming is truly disrupting humanity. We need to listen to victims and help them survive after the incident while incarcerating the rapists.

It's no secret that we live in a society where rape culture is sadly a very real thing. From toxic messages of male masculinity to oversexualization of women from a young age, the unsettling truth is that rape culture exists, and we must break the cycle.

Q: How have you moved on from the situation? What steps were necessary to take?

Yes, I have! I had to make this situation positive rather than negative. I did that by speaking out, standing up and accepting what happened. I will never remain silent.

Q: What's a message that you want survivors to hear?

Always! ALWAYS! Get a rape kit. I know that I was told that there wasn’t enough evidence to find my rapist responsible when I had a rape kit and witnesses, but if he rapes again, his DNA is in the system. If you don’t report it even, please, get a rape kit. It could even save someone else.

I refuse to let the boy who hurt me walk free. My face will be embedded into his mind for the rest of his life. I will go to college. I will get my diploma. I will work at a job that I enjoy working at every day. I will marry a man who looks at me as a strong woman, with fire in her eyes and determination in her soul. I will bear the births of children who will know that "no means no" and who will walk with a head held high every day of their lives. I will not let my rapist take my life from me. I am stronger than the system who tells me that my rapist is free and who claims "innocent until proven guilty" but who put me on trial for being afraid. I will live. I will rise above this.