Earlier this week I found myself lying in bed avoiding homework scrolling through Netflix trying to find something to watch. I went to the documentary section and started browsing through. I stumbled upon a movie called The Hunting Ground. This was a documentary that covered the issues of sexual assault on college campuses. Being that it is sexual awareness month I found it was a good time to address this major problem in our country.

Throughout the movie, you hear stories of how these men and women were sexually assaulted but their colleges did not believe them or told them that they are liars. We also see how people who do not know the girls react, and it is truly terrifying. Instead of rallying around the girls and supporting them, they call them liars and attention seekers. This is a major issue that needs to be addressed.

The number of false accusations is two percent. Two percent, that is it. So why do people call the other ninety eight percent of victims liars? All over our nation this is happening, a big school and even some small. Many people think that they are going to a safe campus because the crime rates are low, but this is not the case. The reason that seems very evident from this movie is simple, college campuses don’t take the accusations seriously because they don’t want to report it to the federal government and increase the crime rate of their institution. They want to make their schools look safe when they are not. One in five women will be sexually assaulted while they are attending college. This is nearly twenty percent of the women enrolled in a college program. I don’t know about you, but being a woman on a college campus, this is a frightening statistic.

The victims are often blamed because they were drinking or they were wearing a provocative outfit. These are not reasons that anyone should have to touch another person without their permission. It does not matter if you are the most popular person on campus, I promise not everyone wants to sleep with you and you shouldn’t force someone to do something that they don’t want to.

Knowing you’re not alone and will not be doubted is one of the biggest struggles that victims face. There are many ways to be there for a victim or even better, ways to prevent the assault itself.

1. When you go out: buddy system, buddy system, buddy system, and buddy system. I cannot even explain how much this can work. If there are two of you, it makes it harder for someone to take advantage.
2. Don’t walk alone at night. I know that there is campus security, but they are not always there when you need them.
3. Take the Its On Us pledge at http://itsonus.org. You can be that person’s lifeboat, you can take the pledge to intervene in situations that consent cannot be given or even provide support for the survivors.
4. Report and don’t give up. I know that it’s hard when people constantly tell you that you are lying or that it is your fault but I promise you’re not alone. You can help stop this major issue by standing up and fighting.

I know it’s hard but I believe in you and you have more support than you think. As my favorite quote by Winnie the Pooh says, “ You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, smarter than you think and loved more than you know”. I challenge people to take a stand against sexual assault on college campuses, help end this awful epidemic. Be the change.