Every 68 seconds an American is sexually assaulted; however, only 25 out of every 1,000 perpetrators end up convicted, according to statistics from The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN).
At the University of Maryland, on campus organizations, such as Preventing Sexual Asssault (PSA), provide support for the cause and the victims. Every year, PSA hosts their “Occupy McKeldin” event, to raise awareness about sexual assault at UMD.
This year the April 22 event included yoga, self defense training, insightful speakers, survivor stories and a candlelight vigil. Speaker Brittany Piper, a sexual violence prevention expert and healing coach, discussed the ramifications of the lack of proper sex education.
“The problem that we have in this country is only 24 states require sex education,” Piper said, “70% of those programs are abstinence based, which means that we’re simply telling young people to save yourself until marriage, which is all fine and good, but that means we’re not actually talking about sex.”
Piper delved into the consequences of not educating young minds on what healthy sex looks like, and how this has led to objectification. She mentioned how sexually violent video games, sexualized advertisements, vulgar music and the pornography industry have skewed societies view of what sex should be, including her own.
“And it wasn’t until I was about in my early twenties that I realized that I had put myself in some pretty precarious situations because this idea, this view that I had of sex, had become so wrong and so thwarted,” Piper said.
“This is rape culture. This is how we have gotten to a place where one in five women will experience some form of sexual violence while on a college campus,” Piper said.
However, women are not the only individuals who experience sexual violence. Speaker Jeremy Hardy from the nonprofit organization Men Can Stop Rape, spoke on the importance of breaking the stigma that men can not be victims.
“…men experience sexual assault. Men are raped as well,” Hardy said,. “…We want to normalize that it happens to men.”
Hardy also discussed how healthy masculinity is vital in preventing sexual assault. He challenged men to reshape societal norms away from toxic masculinity that promotes sexual violence
Following the speakers, heart wrenching survivor stories were delivered. Most of the stories were sent in anonymously, but a few were read by the survivors themselves.
To close the day, members of PSA and the community lit candles to honor the late victims of sexual assault and sexual violence. According to statistics listed by The Victim Service Center of Central Florida, over ⅓ of women who have experienced sexual trauma have contemplated suicide.
Co-president of PSA, Hailey Chaikin, senior communications major, hopes this protest raised awareness to the extensive issue of sexual assault, and gave survivors a sense of hope.
“I think that not a lot of people are aware that this happens at UMD, that it happens at all,” Chaikin said,. “…What is sexual assault? What classifies it? It’s really your own definition. It’s really what you feel and giving that space to everyone to validate their feelings, so hopefully that’s what people can take away from today.”