Sexual assault awareness isn’t the issue; the issue is sexual assault acceptance. As a college student, it is nearly impossible to go through your freshman year without getting talked to about sexual assault ?awareness.
From the moment we go to orientation at IU, we are taught about sexual assault and all the repercussions that can come from it. We hear so many stories of sexual assault happening around the country that we begin to accept it.
Instead of realizing what a horrendous thing it is, we too often hear about it and think, “Oh, that poor person,” but we don’t actually do anything about it.
Sexual assault is an issue we all need to stand up for and say we won’t accept it, no matter what. Sexual assault is happening on our campus.
I’ve heard personal stories of young women who have been assaulted, and a lot of the time, they don’t feel the situation got handled correctly. A lot of times, sexual assault stems from sexual harassment, which isn’t always dealt with ?properly.
If an individual feels they are being harassed, they need to feel that the school will do everything in their power to stop this harassment.
Nobody should just accept or ?endure the harassment or assault.
They should feel supported enough by their school that they can reach out and get the help ?they need. When an individual doesn’t feel supported, it is likely they will suffer even more from the situation.
They have already lost the power in the moment the assault ?happened, and getting them back to a place where they should feel empowered should be our number ?one goal.
Yes, the campus does a good job at bringing sexual awareness to the attention of the University, but we need to put more of a push on making people realize assault should never be accepted.
Cassi Le-Hue
cllehue@indiana.edu
406 B E 20th Street
Bloomington, IN
