Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM). According to Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN), "one in six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime." Because the majority of victims are female (about 17.6% are women, 3% are men), women are most likely going to advocate the elimination of sexual assault.

Recently, I saw an article on Ms. Magazine's website about men being proactive in anti-sexual assault causes. 

The article goes on to say that "there is a new kind of fantasy. It's about a new kind of man." The New Men stand by the women on school campuses demanding justice. These men are disgusted in rape culture and slut shaming. They start to call their friends out on behaving badly towards women. The New Men will start with the frat parties, then sports teams, coaches, professors- "they challenge all men to be better men." 

I think this idea of men standing up to the victims of assault is really great. Now instead of just women, we have men to help this fight that seems never ending. There are events that involve men in ending rape, sexual assault and gender violence, such as Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. 

By getting the message across to all people- no matter race, class, gender, or background- it raises awareness, and it will lead to the elimination of sexual assault. Yet, it is crucial to start this awareness on college campuses. 

Harvard published a story written by a student, who was raped on campus. The student asked for the perpetrator to be moved out of her dorm building, so she wouldn't have to see him every day. Harvard could not do anything because "[the] assailant may not have violated the school's [sexual assault] policy in the student handbook." This policy is twenty years old. The student goes on to say that she developed depression and anxiety because of the rape and the fact that the college did nothing to help her. 

There are many other cases like this: Amherst, Steubenville, Emerson, Swarthmore, Occidental, as well as 41 other colleges. These stories are so sad, because who will help the victims, if not the people in charge? Men are the majority of the perpetrators, so the idea of the New Men coming in and telling their friends they are acting like bad behaved bigots might work. Rallies, speeches, and other events held by men and women in ending sexual abuse on campuses is another way to get the word out. 

What are your thoughts on ending sexual assault on college campuses? Have you or someone you know attended Walk a Mile in Her Shoes? 

For more information about SAAM and the events going on this month, visit the National Network to End Domestic Violence website.