Unfortunately, in today’s society, sexual assault is a topic we hear about frequently. From the ever-famous Brock Turner case and his laughable three-month stint in jail to the heavily fabricated Rolling Stone “A Rape On Campus” article to the recent unveilings at Baylor and the University of Texas at Austin, it’s as if each and every day we hear something new about sexual assault on college campuses. Typically, our focus is directed at universities and how reports of rape and sexual assault are consistently rising.

But what about high schools and middle schools?

While colleges consistently struggle to find a way to handle the rising reports of sexual assaults, high schools are in the same boat. According to the Justice Department, nearly 20 percent of girls between the ages of 14 and 17 have been victims of sexual assault. I myself am included in that percentage. But for many young girls (and young men), they’re simply another statistic.

To give a brief rundown, Title IX is a federal law that is a ban against discrimination in education based on gender. Know Your IX, an organization dedicated to presenting the facts about Title IX and "empowering students to stop sexual violence," is a wonderful resource for students who have questions about Title IX. What most people fail to recognize is that while Title IX does protect survivors of sexual assault on college campuses, it also trickles down into high schools, middle schools and elementary schools, as well. Title IX states: No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

Know Your IX does a fantastic job of giving the basics of a high school student’s rights in regards to sexual violence. The problem is, most students are unaware of Title IX and the ways it can protect survivors of sexual violence. Title IX is not widely talked about in high schools across the country, or at least, it wasn’t when I was still in high school four short years ago. And it certainly wasn’t even remotely on my radar in terms of how it could protect me when my assault happened.

So, where have we gone wrong? Where have we fallen short in terms of addressing Title IX with our high school students who so desperately need it? In the documentary film "Audrie and Daisy," we catch a glimpse of the vulgar reality that many of us only assumed happened in college – two teenage girls pass out while intoxicated at a party and are sexually assaulted. And in the aftermath of their assaults, they’re harassed, bullied and both attempt suicide – and one tragically succeeds. It’s stories like this that should remind us to wake up and see the reality our high school students are now facing. They’re engaging in sexual activity younger, they’re growing up faster and, yes, they even seem to now skip the “awkward middle school stage.”

We need to demand more from sexual education programs, from administrations, and from high schools as a whole across the country. Addressing the topic of consent in high school is not only vital to the foundation of healthy sexual relationships, it’s necessary before teens attend college. If teens are engaging in sexual activity earlier, we need to ensure these experiences are safe and consensual for all parties, and this begins with educating parents and teens on how to engage in nontoxic relationship — because “traumatic” should not have to be a term coined in describing one’s sexual encounters at any age, not just in college.