Former Vice President Joe Biden spoke at Rutgers University on Thursday, October 12th to combat the prevalence of sexual violence on college campuses with the “It’s On Us” campaign, a national movement he launched in 2014 with President Barack Obama.
Held on the College Avenue campus in New Brunswick, Biden addressed a gymnasium full of almost 2,000 students, administrators and survivors. After praising the Rutgers community for its leading role in raising awareness, he urged the audience to join together in solidarity and action.
“One in five women will be sexually assaulted in their college years,” Biden said. “Buried deep in this culture, in our psyche, is the idea that a woman is to blame. We’ve made a lot of progress, but we haven’t done nearly enough.”
There have been over 35,000 “It’s On Us” events on campuses in every state across the country with more than 430,000 people signing the pledge to intervene on acts of sexual assault, according to Biden.
The hour long speech discussed current matters, such as Harvey Weinstein’s rape allegations, where Biden encouraged men, who also have a one in 33 chance of getting seuxally assaulted, to get more involved on campuses.
“Everyone has a role in eliminating the culture that enables sexual violence,” Biden stated.
Throughout his speech, the former Vice President described his years of legislative work tackling issues of violence and sexual assault, as well as his experiences with working closely with victims. For example, since the Violence Against Women Act was passed 27 years ago, the government has saved around $12 million in averted costs and rates of domestic violence have lowered by 63 percent, Biden said.
He also touched upon current administrative issues pertaining to sexual assault. Biden sharply criticized Education Secretary Betsy Devos’ rescinding of Title IX protections, as well as President Trump’s famous locker room rhetoric.
“I know our president talks about locker room talk. They didn’t talk that way in my locker room,” Biden said explicitly. “The people who start that conversation are usually the ugliest son of a b*tch in the room.”
Prior to Biden’s anticipated speech, Rutgers affiliated survivors of sexual assault voiced their stories to the thousands in attendance. These four women, whose names will not be mentioned, shared courageous and raw stories of strength.
Other speakers included the university’s Chancellor Debasish Dutta, Vice Chancellor Felicia McGinty, Rutgers University student leaders, Big Ten athletes, spoken word and acapella performers and more.
The “It’s On Us” rally came at the end of Rutgers’ week long effort to “Turn the Campus Purple,” in order to raise awareness about domestic and sexual abuse. Other events included open lectures, candle light vigils and even physically painting the familiar scarlet Rutgers buses purple.
There are many organizations at Rutgers University that look to help victims cope with the effects of sexual violence and further prevent injurious actions. The University’s Office of Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance, who hosted the event, offers a free 24/7 confidential hotline for students and other programs.
With the help of prominent figures like Joe Biden, Rutgers is making strides to end assault on its campuses. According to the former Vice President, victory is as simple as the elimination of four words.
“We will have succeeded in this fight when not a single one of you, not a single woman who was abused or raped, ever asks herself ‘what did I do?” Biden said.