The beginning of your college career can be a daunting territory to explore. New experiences and opportunities to reinvent who you are and where you want your life to go welcome a freedom never before felt. Transitioning into this new phase can be scary and with that transition comes risk of sexual assault.
The red zone is the terrible reality college students face the moment they step foot on campus. It is a time when incoming students are at a higher risk of encountering sexual violence. According to the Centre County Women’s resource center, “The first month and a half of college is the time when freshmen women are most likely to be raped or experience attempted rape.” The reality is that this type of crime affects women on a proportionately larger scale; the root of trying to figure out why reveals the problematic relationship our society has with women.
The exposure of the case against Brock Turner last year, and the outcome of that trial, reignited the conversation on rape culture and the victim blaming that lets these crimes go unpunished. The fact that very clear cases of sexual assault occur but the same types of questions seem to come up in discussions about it remind us of the misogyny that is alive and well. What a woman wears and previous sexual partners do not excuse the fact that she has been assaulted. It comes as no surprise that only 13% of rape survivors report their assault. To try to find justification in that shows us that we have a long way to go in learning about respect, consent and calling rape for what it is.
The fact that many college students may be or may know of someone who is a victim of sexual assault could be an overwhelming weight to carry. We should not live in a culture where men and women have to live with the worry of being sexually assaulted, as Emily Doe (the unnamed Stanford victim) so candidly puts it “The seriousness of rape has to be communicated clearly, we should not create a culture that suggests we learn that rape is wrong through trial and error.”
So what can we do as college students to end this epidemic and the victim blaming that comes with it? Many college campuses have begun taking part in the It’s On Us Campaign to create awareness on the issue, providing resources on educating students to speak up and hold others accountable like how filing a report can be done online and on understanding consent and when it can and can’t be given. Our own university also has a Victim Empowerment Program to “provide free and confidential support services to students, faculty and staff who have experienced actual or threatened violence in the form of sexual assault, relationship violence and stalking among others.” The Dean of Students Office and the Office of Equal Opportunity Programs and Diversity work to help students in need, creating a space free of discrimination and judgment. Counselors are also available through the university’s health center.
Victim Advocate Counselors are available 24/7 for crisis response at the following number 305-348-3000. You are not alone if you have experienced assault; there are people and resources to help you through it.
Ultimately, making a difference starts in each of us. We have to stand by survivors of assault when they share their stories. Society will only change when it starts taking the severity of rape seriously and stops putting the responsibility of that all on the victim. To all you powerful women, you are worthy of respect. This world cannot take away your power and your light, remember that.
Cover Photo: http://www.trbimg.com/img-53f8036c/turbine/hc-redzone-for-freshmen-0824-…