Campus sexual assault is a growing issue at American colleges and universities today. Sadly we’re all too afraid to admit it is happening and would rather make excuses and pretend it’s not happening, but guess what? It is! And it won’t stop until we do something to stop it.

Mariska Hargitay, founder of the Joyful Heart Foundation and better known as Detective Olivia Benson on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit, started her foundation for domestic violence and sexual assault victims and is running a campaign called No More, which means no more excuses. Excuses is one of the number one reasons why it is continuing to happen and why it is a epidemic.

So, a lot of people seem to get confused on exactly what sexual assault is. Sexual assault is any involuntary sexual act in which a person is coerced or physically forced to engage against their will, or any non-consensual sexual touching of a person, rape, groping, kissing, etc.

1 in 5 women will be the victim of sexual assault. Intro to Criminal Justice teacher Ron Suchy explained how this statistic is likely to be higher, which is downright scary. “That’s an underestimation,” Suchy said. “That’s most likely the number of reported assaults. If you include unreported the statistic is more like two out of five women.”

Suchy is one of only many Mayfield teachers who feel it is imperative to teach on topics like these to students as students enter their college years. “There should be and education program to teach kids to be more aware… in both high school and on college campuses,” Suchy said.

English teacher Rachel McBride blames society and believes gender inequality also plays a role. As a college student, she said she took preventative steps to protect herself. “Things should be different, but they aren’t,” she said.

Two thirds of sexual assaults are committed by an attacker that the victim knows. People always ask the big question about why victims don’t report. The reasons are different for both men and women; women don’t report because of the distrust of authority and fear of blame.

“You were drinking, what did you expect?” were the first words political analyst and writer for Essence and Cosmopolitan magazines, Zerlina Maxwell heard when she reported her rape to someone she trusted.
Men, yes men can be victims too, as about ten percent of sexual assault incidents are against males. They don’t report because of a social stigma that men are supposed to be tough and stand up for themselves and people believe that men don’t get assaulted. Therefore they are too humiliated to report.

According to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network), 60% of victims don’t go to the police, 25% of reports lead to an arrest, and 97% of rapists never spend a single day in jail.

You’ve heard the facts, teachers’ thoughts on this issue, and have the information you need to know. Now it’s your turn to do something about it! Listen and believe someone if they come to you, and help them get the help they need. If you have ever been the victim of sexual assault, tell someone. Even if you don’t want to make an official report, tell someone- whether it’s a friend, counselor, teacher, parent, etc.

Some awesome websites to check out where you can find more information are NOMORE.org and RAINN.org

The end can start with you!