As part of a campaign against sexual assault, the White House recently released a video urging citizens to stand up against sexual abuse and rape. The video features several well-known and respected celebrities and asks viewers to re-evaluate their stance on sexual abuse. Watch it here:
With sexual assault and feminism appearing in the news for all sorts of negative reasons (remember the female barrister who caused a stir last year by arguing that rape victims are partially to blame?) the video is a refreshing look at sexual assault and what we can do to stop it. With statements such as, ‘It’s happening on college campuses, in bars, even in high-schools,’ and ‘If she doesn’t consent, or if she can’t consent, it’s rape. It’s assault,’ the video seeks to raise awareness of a problem which is widespread and severe in our society.
A study has revealed that 1 out of every 6 American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime; this horrific event can make victims 3 times more likely to suffer from depression, 26 more times likely to abuse drugs and 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide. This may reflect extreme cases, but we must not forget that sexual assault is prevalent everywhere. The time that sweaty guy grabbed your boobs in Ocean, that time a drunken kiss got suddenly out of hand, the boy demanding his rights to more; these are all incidents of sexual assault and exist because of the view in society of women as objects which are available for the taking.
The video says that removing sexual assault from society is a job which everyone is responsible for. Daniel Craig tells us that, ‘If I saw it happening, I’d never blame her. I’d help her.’ The message is clear: blame the rapist, not the victim. To all those people who say that if a woman doesn’t want to be raped she should cover herself up, is this the 19th century? Are we animals who cannot resist the lure of female flesh? In order to remove the threat of rape, we need to go right to the source of the problem. It is not enough to tell a woman how not to get raped (I’m sorry but has there ever been a time when ‘She was asking for it’ was true??) as this places the blame on the victim and not the rapist. We need to change how sexual assault is viewed in society and this video takes us another step closer to that.
The video makes use of some big names, and who better to try and implement a change in society than President Barack Obama and James Bond? By personalising the problem (‘It’s happening to our sisters. And our daughters. Our wives and our friends.’), the message strikes the hearts of viewers; this could be your loved ones, it tells us, and are you going to stand by and let your daughter be a victim?
The focus is on standing up for what is wrong, stop allowing the problems to continue. If you see assault happening, at whatever level, then it is your responsibility to step in. The video appeals to the hero inside the viewer. Generally aimed at men, the male celebrities in the video suggest that standing up for what is wrong is what makes you a man, that it is not enough to sit idly back and allow sexual assault to happen.
The video is part of an American campaign called ‘1is2many’, set up by Vice President Joe Biden. Biden’s work against sexual assault led to the introduction of the Violence Against Women Act in the United States Congress which changed law enforcement practices, improved the criminal justice system and created a network of services for victims; since 1994, rates of domestic violence have decreased by over 50%. Biden has focused on sexual assault against students, teens and young women aged 16-24 as this age group faces the highest rates of dating violence and sexual assault – nearly one in five college women will be the victim of a sexual assault. The 1is2many campaign has also created apps to help protect students, such as the ‘Circle of 6’ app which allows you to reach your ‘circle’ of supporters instantly, uses GPS to locate you when needed, and connects to domestic violence organisations.
As with anything, the 1is2many video has a variety of negative comments on YouTube from viewers who seem to have missed the point of the video. The majority of the negative commenters insist on being furious and offended that the video focuses on the assault of women and not on men. Others insist on being upset because the video supposedly suggests that ALL MEN are rapists. For example: ‘I understand guys, the intent is good. But F**K SAKE: WOMEN are not the ONLY PEOPLE who get sexually assaulted,’ and ‘Nice to see this video focuses on Sexual Assault on Men too… OH WAIT. It’s not important enough to get some recognition too.’
What these commenters have failed to see is that at no point in the video does any speaker declare that men are not victims too, and the makers of the video are not ridiculous enough to suggest that all men are rapists. 2.78 million men in American have been victims of sexual assault or rape, and no-one is denying, or could ever deny, the impact that this has. But how can the 1is2many campaign be expected to address EVERY concern in one video? Given that in 90% of sexual assault cases women are the victims, it is understandable that campaigns such as this specifically target female sexual abuse. The video acts to raise awareness for all sexual assault, regardless of sex or age. As Biden says in the video, ‘This is about respect, it’s about responsibility.’ The YouTube commenters who suggest that the message of the video is that ‘YOU, all men, are rapists!’ have misunderstood the message. The video is not directed at men-as-rapists, but to men-as-defenders, to say, ‘YOU, all men, can STOP rapists!’
The campaign raises awareness for sexual assault and seeks to change how it is viewed in society by removing the blame from the victim and urging more people to speak out and put a stop to sexual assault –‘Because,’ as Daniel Craig tells us, ‘1 is 2 many.’
Sources:
http://www.rainn.org/get-information/statistics/sexual-assault-victims
http://www.whitehouse.gov/1is2many
Edited by Harriet Dunlea