With Sexual Assault Awareness Month right around the corner in April, there’s no better time to remind people of the toxic way we tend to talk about sexual assault – and the progress we still have to make. Luckily, former Vice President Joe Biden’s campaign, called It’s On Us, which raises awareness about sexual assault released a new video PSA that does exactly this.
Titled “Autocorrect,” the video shows a text conversation between two male friends the morning after (presumably) a party. As they use casual language to describe what was actually one friend’s attempt at sexually assaulting a woman at the party, autocorrect bubbles pop up to fill in phrases that actually describe what happened the night before.
Examples include one guy writing that he had to “encourage” a woman to have sex with him, and autocorrecting to “forcing.” As his story continues, he says her friend knocked on his door “running her mouth,” which autocorrects to “asking if she was okay.”
The correct word for sex without consent is rape. Period. #ItsOnUs to know the signs and to stop it. https://t.co/yGBRIKiHod
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) March 28, 2017
Unfortunately, this conversation is all-too-common in real life, especially on college campuses where alcohol and parties aren’t exactly hard to find. Part of the reason the video is so powerful is because we can all relate. We’ve all heard what was really sexual assault talked about in a way that disguises it as nothing more than a drunken hookup – which makes the campaign’s message all the more important.
Throughout the month of April, It’s On Us will continue to spread awareness about sexual assault by holding over 300 events across the country – you can learn about how to take action or get involved on the campaign’s website.