This year’s Oscars came with a lot of controversy about the issue of diversity among the nominees. However, this wasn’t the only controversial issue brought up during the ceremony. Lady Gaga gave a heartbreaking performance of “Til It Happens to You” in an effort to speak out against sexual violence that actually brought attendees to tears. The song brings up the issue that those who have not experienced this horrible act can never quite understand what it’s like to go through it. Lady Gaga ended the performance by having several survivors join her onstage with phrases such as “not your fault,” “unbreakable” and “not alone” written on their arms.
With all the discussion about “Free Kesha” recently, this performance may simply seem like Gaga’s effort to support Kesha, but it is so much more than that. It may have taken a lawsuit from a celebrity for the media to bring major attention to the occurrence of sexual assault, but it is finally getting the attention it needs. This performance at the Academy Awards called attention to all the victims and all of the suffering they endure because of the abuse they were put through.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, "about 293,000 [Americans are] victims of sexual assault" annually. That's enough for one person to be abused "every 107 seconds." Even with all of these attacks, 68 percent of them do not get reported to the authorities and "98 [percent] of rapists will never spend a day in jail."
We claim that America is the land of the free and the home of the brave, but we make these victims feel as though they have to keep quiet about what happened to them. We shame them for their abuse and make them feel like it was their fault. We say that it was because of what [s]he was wearing, that [s]he was asking for it. No one asks to be sexually assaulted, no matter what [s]he is wearing, what [s]he has done in the past or what reputation [s]he has. No means no.
Lady Gaga had the right idea with trying to prove a point about sexual assault in her Oscar performance. Victims should not be blamed for what happened to them but instead should feel that they live in a society that will help them recover and help catch the rapists that so often are left free to wander the streets. We hear so much news about war, politics and international problems, but it's time that we start paying more attention to the problem that has gone on for far too long. It's time that we make a change.
