Lady Gaga released a new video for a song called “Until It Happens to You,” which is about the nature of sexaul assault on college campuses. Throughout the video you see college women going out in college or even just being on the college campus. In one scene there are two college girls at a party and a boy drugs their drinks so the girls drinks until they cannot function. The boys then goes on to rape the women until one wakes up and throws him off of her. The video depicts the girl’s lives being altered from then on. The girls project words on their bodies such as “Sometimes I hate myself.” These rape victims feel the pain of the rape for days, weeks, months and years after the encounter. Sometimes the rape affects college students so much they will leave campus to try to get away from the trauma that has plagued them.
The end of the video shares the fact “one in five college students will be assaulted this year unless something changes.” This call for change by Lady Gaga ties into the title of the video “Until It Happens to You.” We are all often plagued by the idea that it will never happen to us. We think that we are untouchable and harm can never catch up to us. However, these statistics prove that the likelihood of rape on a college campus is high and that’s not okay.
Itsonus.org is the web link provided at the end of the video. On the website there are resources, videos, a place to donate, a place to contact them and the partners of the movement. Lastly, there is the online source where we all can pledge to:
1. RECOGNIZE consensual sex and non-consensual.
2. IDENTIFY situations where sexual assault may occur.
3. INTERVENE situations where consent hasn’t been given.
4. CREATE an environment where sexual assault isn’t tolerated.
By pledging people are choosing to be part of the solution, rather than a bystander in the issue of sexual assault. Human respect needs to be gained and we all need to rally together and choose consent over assaults. No one needs to be a victim of assault.
If you have been a victim of sexual assault or are sexually assaulted The National Sexual Assault Hotline is 1-800-656-HOPE.