Changing the Dialogue on Sexual Assault

If you use the internet, you’ve seen or heard about Emma Watson’s speech on feminism in the 21st century.

Watson addressed the UN about the importance of gender equality, not just in the context of empowering women, but men as well. Watson notably addressed the trope that feminism is synonymous with misandry and urged men to understand that feminism isn’t just a women’s issue.

Men, the actress pointed out, are oft subject to gender binaries that can negatively impact the way they express themselves just as women are. The point of Watson’s speech being to promote her new UN solidarity campaign, He For She. The goal is simple: to encourage men to commit to promoting feminism. The White House made a similar move this year by promoting the It’s On Us campaign to address sexual violence against women. The campaign’s goal, much like He For She, is centered around an online pledge to identify, address, and eliminate sexual assault.

Many of these programs’ critics claim that signing a pledge on the internet doesn’t obligate a behavior and doesn’t create visible or permanent institutional changes within a society. To some extent, they’re right. The It’s On Us campaign doesn’t deputize citizens. It doesn’t imbue them with a fully formed understanding of sexual violence and prevention.

Signing up and tweeting #HeForShe doesn’t make you a feminist. So what’s the point?

I grew up watching Law and Order SVU. Olivia Benson and Elliot Stabler dishing out justice and standing up for victims of crimes that are considered “especially heinous” will always be in my heart and Netflix queue. When it aired, SVU was considered controversial because it dealt with sexual assault openly and often graphically. But many assault activists praised SVU for creating a dialogue about a crime so deeply shrouded in shame. These issues are uncomfortable but the Law and Order franchise dragged sexual assault in the light and forced viewers to recognize sexual assault for what it is: a crime. These initiatives hope to achieve the same goal.  

Increasingly, college campuses are adopting step-by-step affirmative consent policies to address the pervasive culture of assault on college campuses (Antioch College in Ohio instituted this policy twenty years ago). Consent must be given actively, can be revoked at any time, and intoxication has no bearing on its validity. In simple terms, “no means no” is being replaced with “yes means yes”.

The change may seem just a game of semantics, but it is a statement on rape culture and changing the dynamics associated with sex. Women should not have to constantly be on the defensive when interacting with a partner. Rather, the decision to engage in sexual acts should be a collaborative decision made by two freely informed people. 

Even as progress is being made, there are still visible instances that show why these initiatives are necessary. The performance art piece “Carry That Weight” by Columbia student Emma Sulkowicz is an example. Sulkowicz says she was raped in her dorm, on her own bed. Her rapist has been accused of sexual assault before. However, he still attends the university. Sulkowicz, an art major, has now committed to carrying the mattress she was raped on with her, everywhere she goes, for as long as she is forced to attend the same school as her rapist, to symbolize how she is burdened by the trauma of her assault. Many have rallied around her, but she’s also been the victim of retaliation.

In spite of the very public campaign and the pursuiant Title IX lawsuit, Columbia is but one in a throng of American univeristies exposed to have a deeply dsturbing pattern of sexual violence. A recent survey of American universities found that 1 in 5 women were victims of sexual violence within their time in college. This problem is not unique to state schools or “lower end” universities with some of the highest rates coming from repsondents at Ivy League schools. Of those respondents less than 30% reported the incident to authorities. And just over 63% of all those assaulted respondents believed their universities would take the report seriously. On the heels of these findings colleges are feeling the pressure to react swiftly and decisively to a growing call for action, for greater protections that should already exist.   

Some institutions are slow to make the changes. In others, the government is making it for them. California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill requiring all schools receiving state funding to adopt the “yes means yes” system. This will fundamentally change the way assaults are handled on campuses throughout the state. Gone are the suggestive questions: “What were you wearing?” “Did you have a previous sexual relationship”. The burden is now squarely placed on offeders’ shoulders. 

Often, we find the university emails about sexual assaults on campus to be frightening. Any form of sexual misconduct is a tragedy. But the sexual assault alert in your inbox should also be appreciated for what it is: a victim advocating for themselves. 

Sexual assault happens. Receiving that email from Campus Police means that a survivor was not so stymied by shame or fear that they didn’t report. It’s a sign of empowerment in the face of horror. 

Comprehensive reform to sexual conduct codes is essential to promoting the equality of the sexes. How can we achieve when we don’t feel safe around half of the population of our planet? 

Projects like He For She and It’s On Us are essential to fostering a dialogue about feminism, women’s rights, and the flaws in our social landscape that leave women at an egregious and unexcusable disadvantage. When we, men and women, have a comprehensive knowledge of what is and isn’t acceptable, when we are made aware of the biases we systematically ignore, when we make a committment to enfranchising one another, we can make sure to ease the burden of those who suffer. We can make sure they don’t have to carry that weight. 

Click here more information about affirmative consent, He For She, It’s On Us, and Notre Dame’s effort to end sexual violence on campus. 

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• affirmative consent
• Emma Watson
• politics
• Rape Culture
• UN
• women