Vice President Joe Biden has been making huge efforts to shed light on sexual assault and rape against college-age women. Using the hashtag #ItsOnUs means that the government sees the problems with the statistics. In his tweet, he says, "Approximately 1 in every 5 women in college experience rape or sexual assault. #ItsOnUs to make it stop."
I personally help to make up a five-girl friend group. We are all in college, and we trust in each other to keep us safe after a night of partying or on a blind date. We are all very aware of the statistics against women and how many experience rape or sexual assault every year. As women, we need to protect each other. As I look around and see my four best friends sitting across from me, I am aware of the statistics against us. The statistics say at least one of us will experience rape or sexual assault, because it's one out of every five.
Joe Biden's tweet has over 3,000 retweets and 6,000 favorites. Biden wants college campuses to step up their efforts to combat sexual assault. In Biden's article with Medium.com he said, "As leaders of our nation’s colleges and universities, you have a legal and a moral obligation to combat sexual violence on your campuses — and that starts with changing the culture on your campuses."
As if Biden's article could get ANY better, he continues to state facts about sexual violence and rape towards transgender and LGBTQIA+ students. He says, "Twenty-two years ago, approximately 1 in every 5 women in college experienced rape or sexual assault. Today, the number is the same. And for female transgender and bisexual students, it’s even worse: 1 in 4 transgender students experience sexual assault in college. For bisexual students, it’s 1 in 3."
As a female college student, I am afraid to walk alone at night. I sometimes call a friend whenever I am leaving work or the library, just so if something happens someone will know to call the police. It is these mundane habits that become rooted in women's and LGBTQIA+ people's lives and routines. Joe Biden is not the first, nor the last public figure to look into the situation of sexual assault and rape on college campuses.
Stand with Vice President Joe Biden, stand with me and all of my friends and sign the pledge at ItsOnUs.org to educate, raise awareness, and stop sexual assault and rape on college campuses.
