Recently, I took it upon myself to watch the Netflix documentary, "The Hunting Ground." For those of you who aren't familiar with this film, it covers the issue of rape culture and the growing concern of sexual assaults on college campuses. This documentary follows a series of young women who have experienced sexual assault during their college experience. It also highlights a variety of court cases against colleges who mishandled sexual assault cases.
First of all, I highly recommend that you watch this documentary right now.
Yes, I said it. Right now.
Next, I want you to accept the truth that sexual assault is a serious issue.
It's not something that "femi-nazis" use as a platform to argue women's rights. It's not over-dramatized information that is skewed by the media. It's not something that we can continue to sweep under the rug.
It's a real f***ing problem.
Men and women on campuses all over this country are faced with complete and utter fear because we are not appropriately defending these victims. Administrators are supposed to help victims find resources. They are supposed to educate students on their rights and give them a support system.
Instead, they build divides. They instruct students to keep quiet. They hide statistics about sexual assault to protect the name of the university. And, when confronted about these issues, they accuse the victims of lying.
Of course, this isn't the case of every university. But, it's too many. Too many schools are perpetrating rape culture instead of educating students to end it.
No means no.
There's no questioning outfits. There's no blaming alcohol. There's no football analogies and no victim blaming.
No means no.
One of the questions I hear over and over is why aren't women (and men) reporting?
Brock Turner.
Austin Wilkerson.
Mark Thompson.
Jose Arriaga Soto Jr.
Austin Smith Clem.
...And so many more.
Rainn.org reports that only 3 out of every 100 rapists will spend a single day in prison.
One out of every five women and one out of every sixteen men will be sexually assaulted during college. If that doesn't concern you, then you are part of that problem.
We need to break the stigma.
Consent needs to be a mandatory part of the equation.
Men and women are suffering.
People's lives are being ruined.
Are you ready to be a part of the solution?