After a long day, I did what we all do and jumped into bed and logged onto Netflix. That is when I stumbled upon a documentary entitled, "Audrie & Daisy" and instantly started watching. Any documentary that discusses violence toward women always grabs my attention, but this film was different from anything I've seen before.
"Audrie & Daisy" is about two girls' harrowing stories of sexual assault when they were merely 14 and 15 years old. The movie explains what happened to them from before their assaults, and what has happened to them years down the road. It starts out with Audrie Pott, but the majority of the film is about Daisy Coleman, since her case, "The Maryville Rape" blew up in the media in 2012.
What makes this film different is the fact that Audrie's perpetrators were featured in illustration form as a part of their settlement with Audrie Pott's family. The creators of this documentary were uneasy at first, but they decided that it could add to the film, and I think it definitely did. They are known as "John B" and "John R" and talk about their feelings throughout the assault and the result of their actions. Their remorse, and those who lacked it shows a fundamental problem with how we are handling sex and sexual assault education in our country.
The problem with America is that people feel uncomfortable talking about sex in general, but especially when we throw young people into the mix. There are parents out there that explain sex and sexual violence to their children, but not every parent does. Some will briefly touch on the subject, or are just naive and trust that their child would tell them if they are having sex. We should applaud the parents who are doing their jobs and enlightening their children on a topic that we all engage in. However, we still need sex education to ensure every child understands the pros, cons, risks and truths about sex and what sexual violence truly is.
Sex education in our country is different in every state and this is not surprising, but we have to do a better job to make sure we are all on the same page. According to the National Conference of State Legislators, only 24 states require sex education and 21 states require both sex and HIV education. Furthermore, 20 states' information is based on medically and factually accurate sources, and they can pull from varying studies to confirm their curriculum, even if they are outdated.
In a nutshell, this means that over half of our country's children in the K-12 public school system may not be receiving any information about sex at all. When it comes to education pertaining to violence against women, sexual assault and rape, the numbers are even lower.
If we want our kids to grow up happy, strong and intelligent, why don't we want to share any helpful information on sex, consent and what constitutes violence?
Why are we so afraid to talk about something everyone does and an act that can potentially ruin a person's life if done against their will?
If we don't start having meaningful conversations with our young people, the number of cases like Audrie and Daisy's will only grow. Nobody wants to see their child hurt by someone else's ignorance, lack of information and inability to care. If we want to stop seeing our boys, girls and those on any part of the spectrum being victimized, let's create an open dialogue with each other and our schools.
Here, you can take action and learn more about the documentary.
"Audrie & Daisy" is currently streaming on Netflix.
