“It happens.” I’m sure those first two words evoked ten million subjects to come to mind about what they are referring to, but I bet none of them are the correct answer. So many people ignore it, let it happen, blame the victim, male or female, or take it too lightly, almost like a joke. Sexual assault happens. It happens all over the country, all over the world. In the United States, someone is assaulted every two minutes. Think about it. In the time it could take you to listen to a song on the radio, one and sometimes two people could be assaulted in that time, yet we fail to do anything to take a stand.

With the recent release of Brock Turner and all of the media coverage surrounding his trial throughout the past year, one would think that people would start to open their eyes, but it is almost as if it has had the opposite effect. Instead of turning their backs on Turner, the attacker, people are targeting the victim. If anything, this probably increased the number of assaults that go unreported, because that number is sky high. That rate mentioned earlier, every two minutes? Those are reported. Imagine how many assaults happen that no one ever finds out about. It. Does. Happen.

Don’t say it was the clothes. Don’t say the skirt was too short, the top too low, the heels too high. Everyone has the right to wear what they want, something that makes them feel good, without worrying about who will take it as an open invitation for sex. No one has the right to look at someone and think that just because the make-up is piled on a little thick today, it means she’s looking to get some. No one has the right to take away the feeling of the safety, but at the rate we are going, the only thing people will feel secure in is a turtle neck and sweatpants, and it’s sad.

Don’t say they never said no. For starters, if they were drunk, there is no need to even question consent because they legally can’t give it. If they are unconscious, do you really think in their foggy head they are chanting “yes, yes, yes?” If you see their face scrunched in pain, if you feel them trying to push you away with all their might, were you taught that that means everything is okay? If you were, you need to go back to school. Just because they don’t verbally say no doesn’t mean yes. It just means you never gave them a chance to or you scared them into silence. Don’t.

Don’t say they had it coming. No one ever deserves for something as terrible as sexual assault to happen to them. Even after the act, the effects emotionally and mentally can linger for years upon years. No one has it coming. The girl who was innocently flirting with you didn’t want to have sex. The one who was making out with you didn’t want to go any further. The girlfriend you assaulted last night wasn’t in the mood. The woman walking down the street at midnight just wanted to get home. But you didn’t listen. You didn’t listen to any of them.

Wake up, America. Sexual assault happens and no one else can stop it but us. If you see something, intervene. If someone comes to talk to you about it, listen. Don’t tell everyone you know. Don’t blame them or tell them what they could’ve done. Listen and support them. Don’t take the side of someone like Brock Turner, as the judicial system did. Stop it.