No means no. This week not only did I learn how to protect myself but I also learned that nothing has angered me more than learning about sexual assault. Although I did know about this growing problem, I was never really made aware the seriousness of this issue.
To illuminate the growing problem of this issue, sexual assault occurs to 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men while attending college. Every 109 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. These statistics are alarmingly high and intolerable. Victims of sexual assault are usually but not limited to women. The important thing to understand about sexual assault is that it can happen to anywhere to anyone at anytime.
According to the Department of Justice, sexual assault is defined as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” From catcalling to rape, these are forms of sexual assault. It can happen to anyone at any age anywhere. I remember walking around the city with a friend and we heard a voice yelling inappropriate phrases towards her. It’s heartbreaking seeing a human being treated with such disrespect and they ask themselves, “why me?” We never really know the reason why and what is so hurtful is that the victims are quick to blame themselves. They begin to blame that they should not have worn the clothes they have, that they should have fought harder, that they made the mistake of trusting them, etc. What is imperative to grasp is that sexual assault is never the victim’s fault.
The worst part about sexual assault is the fact is that it is so intimate and once that innocence is taken away from a person, it is almost impossible to take it back. Not only is that person being violated but their self worth is being taken away from them as well. They begin to believe that their self worth is defined as how that one person treated them and they believe that they are just an object. With this mindset, victims could often turn to resolving this by taking their own life as they see themselves as worthless.
This week at Service in Action, the class watched, “The Hunting Ground” and was also taught the basics of self-defense. “The Hunting Ground” is a Netflix documentary that highlights the problems of sexual assault on college campuses. At first, I will admit that I was a bit skeptical of the documentary’s claims, until I heard the victims’ testimonies. It made me think, “why would they lie or make up something about such a serious issue?” It was alarming learning about the statistics of sexual assault on campus and how often they occur and go unpunished. The documentary shed a whole new light on an issue on the safety and justice of students on campus. it boggled my mind how so many students are capable of getting away with a crime like this due to their public reputation and the reputation of the school. This made me question many of college’s mission statements. From the testimonies of several deans of different colleges, it became clear that most colleges proved more importance to the school’s public reputation than their students’ safety.
Besides the documentary, the class was able to get very hands-on with a lesson in the basics of self defense. Not only did I learn to protect myself but I also learned where, when, and how people can get assaulted. My Dad always used to tell me, “be aware of your surroundings”, and I never understood the importance of that until this lesson. Becoming aware of my surroundings allow me to have an edge on what is coming and how I could prepare myself for it.
Sexual assault is something that frequently happens to vulnerable people. I have always been taught to treat not only a woman but anyone with the utmost respect. There is no way to stop sexual assault from happening altogether, however, I do think that it should be taught in a health class of some sort where we start instilling the morals of how to treat people with respect in our society.
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