If someone does not, or cannot, consent to sex it is rape.
On Sept. 19, the White House launched the "It's On Us" campaign to help end sexual assaults on college campuses. One in every five women and one in every 16 men are sexually assaulted in college. And that is why this initiative, recently announced by the President, is so important. Itsonus.org provides information and tools to help protect yourselves, and others, against sexual assault. There is also the pledge - a personal commitment to be active and preventative. The initiative has enlisted the help of celebrities and major college sport leagues, including our football team, and others, in the Big Ten.
Be aware if someone is deliberately trying to intoxicate, isolate, or corner someone else.
WE are really the solution. WE are the ones walking around on this campus, a campus which had 34 reported instances of sexual assault last year - the second highest in the U.S. WE all need to be aware of our surroundings, of the people we are with and protect those who we think might be in a difficult situation.
Never blame the victim.
A woman at Columbia University, Emma Sulkowicz, has gone public about her sexual assault, even going so far as to carry around the mattress that she was raped on. While she is doing it as a part of a performance art project, it is also to make a point. Many victims carry around their assault with them, as a weight on their shoulders. Amazingly, people have begun to help Sulkowicz carry her mattress, which is representative of how we can help each other and the victims get through their trauma. Over the years, many universities and institutions have swept problems like this under the rug, dismissing the victim and what they went through. A woman carrying her mattress everywhere is very difficult to ignore.
If you are a victim or survivor, or helping someone in that situation, go to notalone.gov to get helpful resources and information. You can also call the National Sexual Assault hotline at 1.800.656.HOPE.
I encourage you to take the "It's On Us" pledge and help protect yourself and others against sexual assault. It’s on us. All of us.
