Recently, a documentary called “The Hunting Ground” came out. It’s a film that explores the pain of sexual assault on college campuses. Even more circulated was the song that Lady Gaga recorded for the film, called “Til It Happens to You.” The music video for this film went viral, with many highlighting its importance of showing campus rape. It begins with different scenarios, including one girl being raped after a friend finds her reading and doing work, another girl attacked while dressing in a bathroom, and two girls being raped after their drinks were drugged at a party. The video then continues with all the girls not knowing how to cope, but ultimately being comforted by their friends. In the end, all the girls walk out of their rooms surrounded by friends and support.
The video is extremely graphic, but the lyrics are also incredibly real, with Gaga’s vocals perfectly matching the power of the song. The main hook of the song is “Til it happens to you, you don’t know how it feels.” The lyrics also describes the lows of the experience, with these sobering and emotional lyrics:
“Til your world burns and crashes,
Til you’re at the end, the end of your rope
Til you’re standing in my shoes
I don’t wanna hear a thing or two from you”
Many are praising the video, as they should. People tend to write off sexual assault on college campuses and truly believe that it doesn’t happen as often as people say it does. Yet, as stated at the end of the video, it will happen to one in five people every year. To top it off, when it does happen, many people find every reason to blame the victim. This video shows the harsh reality of the problem; it shows girls who weren’t doing anything particularly provocative (like studying or getting ready in the bathroom), being assaulted.
This video also allows us to add to the conversation of sexual assault in a more realistic way. People can now visualize what happens instead of thinking of it as some far-off nightmare. According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, an American is sexually assaulted every 107 seconds. Yet, 68% of these cases are never reported and 98% of abusers will never spend a day in jail. Why? Because many of those people are afraid to report their cases in fear of nothing happening. And when they do report their cases, they aren’t given much help. And do you know what one of the worst parts is? Four out of five assaults are committed by someone known by the victim. And in the video, some of the girls were assaulted by friends or by people they knew. People are assaulted every day by significant others, friends, and even family members.
It’s time to end the violence. It’s time to change the conversation and make people realize that it can happen to anyone.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual assault, you can contact the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN) at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or AU’s Office of Advocacy Services for Interpersonal and Sexual Violence (OASIS) at OASIS@american.edu or 202-885-7070.
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