Rape and sexual assault is an ongoing epidemic that has plagued our nation for a protracted amount of time, even made aware of in ancient literature and prehistoric drawings. There have been many cases as well as victims sharing their accounts about how colleges and universities have neglected to follow through with the allegations brought forth to the perpetrators. There have been copious amounts of expulsions for cheating and "dishonorable" conduct, but very few expulsions of perpetrators accused of rape or sexual assault. This issue, as well as the issue of rape in general, is a very serious and critical one. Rape and sexual assault has invariably been a prevalent concern, not just in America solely but as well as around the world. The definition of consent is "a mutual verbal, physical, and emotional agreement that happens without manipulation, threats, head games, or assumptions." It is erroneous to claim that only women are victims because in fact, men are victims as well. 1 in 5 women are survivors of rape. 1 in 2 women and 1 in 5 men have experienced some form of sexual violence in their lives. 1 in 4 women, as well as 1 in 6 men, were sexually abused before the age of 18. Men and women are both affected by rape, it is not solely one gender. Rape is a very hard subject to discuss, this is true, but it is something to talk about. It is something to discuss because it happens every day whether or not the media covers it. I find it unbelievably injust that victims aren't granted the proper justice that should have been brought to them. Their life is important too, and by providing perpetrators with little to no punishment because it would "impact their lives" is indicating that their lives aren't as worthy as their perpetrators which is very inaccurate. This is a prime example why women AND men have difficulty to come forward. I want people to be aware that rape culture is a topic that should be discussed and people should be educated on it and be aware that even if media doesn't cover it to the fullest extent, it is still a prominent issue. It's time to start talking about it.

A key leader on this issue is Vice President Joe Biden. The Violence Against Women Act passed by Congress in 1994, was landmark federal legislation to name violence against women as a public health issue, and a call for the country to act to protect women and girls. Vice President Biden joined with President Obama in 2014 to conceive the campaign "It's On Us" which encourages the public to refrain from being a bystander and getting involved in the prevention of sexual violence. In 2014, The White House issued a report to prevent sexual assault on campuses which included the information about how to receive concrete support services for the victim and the family. (For more information here is the link: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/whi...)

In the documentary "A Hunting Ground" courageous survivors stepped forward to share what had happened to them and brought forth a new eye on the issue with colleges and universities not following through with their claims of helping students. The documentary also highlights that a staggering 88% of women sexually assaulted do not report their sexual assault or rape to a college campus or university for fear of no justice provided for them, men have an even higher percentage of not reporting. "A Hunting Ground" also stated that in 2012, 45% of colleges/universities reported zero sexual assaults. There are 4,140 colleges and universities in the US alone, that means that approximately 2,070 colleges reported that there were no sexual assaults on campus. 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted in their life time... you do the math. This also doesn't include highlighting the LGBTQ community and students with disabilities who are at higher risk than those in the heterosexual community. The documentary gave examples where there were significantly higher incidents of expulsions due to cheating than sexual assault. This documentary was aired in 2015 and yet we continue to see cases like the Stanford University case where perpetrators of sexual assault are not held accountable and survivors are blamed for being violated.

It's now 2016 and this is still a prominent epidemic across the country. In the voices of survivors:

"They asked me if he misread our friendship, but sex was never part of our friendship."- Kamilah (The Hunting Ground)

"“I was pummeled with narrowed, pointed questions that dissected my personal life, love life, past life, family life, inane questions, accumulating trivial details to try and find an excuse for this guy who had me half naked before even bothering to ask for my name. “- Stanford University rape victim

It's time we start listening, believing, AND STOP VICTIM BLAMING.