After the election of Donald Trump, my biggest concern as a sexual assault survivor is what's going to happen to the "It's On Us" campaign started by Vice President Joe Biden and President Barack Obama.
Sexual assault on college campuses has become an epidemic… We’ve promoted a rape culture that seems like a “norm” and is “expected.” We’ve tolerated it.
Regardless of who you voted for, I'm concerned about the future of the sexual assault epidemic on college campuses. Twenty-two years ago, Joe Biden wrote the Violence Against Women Act to end violence against women and hold perpetrators accountable. In Biden’s words, the Act has been a great success, but “even one attack is too many.” Joe Biden reached out to students, administrators, advocates, and survivors to find out what we could do to make colleges safer. The answer was to get men involved. So President Obama and VP Joe Biden started “It’s On Us” to wake-up our colleges and universities and the country to the epidemic of sexual violence on their campuses. Celebrities, major companies, sports leagues, and leading broadcasters have participated in public service announcements to show everyone how they cant help prevent these crimes. Thousands have taken the “It’s On Us” pledge: 1. To intervene instead of being a bystander, 2. To recognize that any time consent is not--or cannot--be given it is sexual assault and it is a crime, and 3. To do everything you can to create an environment where sexual assault is unacceptable, and all survivors are supported. Biden and Obama made it clear that schools that fail in this responsibility to be accountable are in violation of Title IX and risk federal investigation and financial penalties.
This rape culture needs to end and it needs to end now. We’re constantly asking the wrong questions… What were you wearing? How much did you have to drink? Why didn’t you say no or fight back? These questions couldn’t be any more wrong. As Biden put it, “We have to ask the right questions; what made him think that he could do what he did without consent? Why on earth did no one stop him instead of standing by? What can we do to make sure everyone has the courage to speak up, intervene, prevent and end sexual assault once and for all?” Biden put it so eloquently… rape victims and survivors are not statistics. “They’re our sisters, they’re out classmates, and they’re our friends. They’re at every university, every college, in every community.”
There’s no denying that Donald Trump isn't exactly the best spokesperson on how to treat women. The way I see it, we’ve elected a president who promotes a rape culture, who promote treating women in a degrading way. This treatment of women is beyond unacceptable.
The number of posts I have seen on Facebook and social media going against victims coming forward about Donald Trump sexually assaulting them is appalling. Many Trump supporters called these victims “liars” and said they “reported too late.” This is so appalling to me that it’s comical. How utterly insensitive and dehumanizing could you be?
I hate politics. I never post about them, I never talk about them because of the negative energy I associate with them. Half the time I feel like people don't even know what the hell they're talking about. As a survivor, of course I’m going to respond to these ignorant posts and stand up for victims who can’t fight for themselves. I’m sorry but how does a Trump supporter know for a fact that these women weren’t sexually assaulted by Trump? How can you be so insensitive as to say they “reported too late” or were “liars?” Instead of moving forward, this moving a million steps back. As a survivor of sexual assault, I can’t advocate enough for survivors everywhere. I thought it was common knowledge that you can never report too late. It is completely ignorant and disgusting for people who have never been assaulted to say that someone “reported too late.” Excuse me… but if you had something taken away from you… if you were in shock… how in the hell would you have the courage and bravery to report right away… especially when your assaulter is someone in power?
My article is a plea and cry out to Donald Trump and Trump supporters, what's going to happen to the "It's on Us" campaign? What's going to happen to the sexual assault epidemic on college campuses? What’s going to happen to this perverse rape culture? As a sexual assault survivor, these are questions that haunt me about the future of our country. I beg of you Donald Trump and Trump supporters, continue this fight to end the sexual assault epidemic on college campuses once and for all.
