In the past year, it has felt like nearly every day, a new story of sexual abuse, assault or harassment surfaces on the news.
However, very few of these stories are about recent incidents. More often, you find out that the assault had happened years ago.
According to RAINN, every 98 seconds an American is sexually assaulted. This amounts to about 321,500 victims and survivors every year.
If this is such a common problem, why aren’t people speaking up?
Victims of domestic abuse and dating violence often stay silent because they believe their spouse or partner won’t do it again; however, in reality, the victim is continually abused.
Children have also demonstrated a pattern of fear when it comes to speaking out.
According to the Center for Family Justice, more than 15 million children witness domestic violence each year in the United States. One of the reasons witnesses don’t speak up is that most people who witness sexual assault are under 14 years old. Witnesses that old are not able to testify. Additionally, at that age, it is hard for them to understand and they can be afraid to or unsure of how to speak up, whether they are a witness or a victim themselves.
Another reason people do not speak up is because they are afraid to tell family or friends due to the fact that the survivor knew the offender is and their family or friends might not believe them. According to Support Advocacy Research Center, ” 80-90% of sexual assault victims knew their attacker.”
When there are cases such as with big time producer Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulting actresses like Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose McGowan and 80 other actresses and employees, you wonder why no one said anything until recently. But you have to understand the position Weinstein was in and the power he had over these women.
Speaking up could have ruined their careers and given Weinstein’s position, it was likely no one would believe them. Weinstein left the victims to not be heard.
It has been shown time and time again that when survivors do speak up, people do not believe them.
For instance, when Ke$ha was sexually assaulted by her producer, the record label would not come forward at first. This was due to the fact it would make the studio look bad for not speaking up earlier, leaving Ke$ha to fight for her career and reputation.
People see the way women like Ke$ha are treated and decide to stay silent.
However, recently on Twitter, people have been using the hashtag #IWillSpeakUp to challenge the culture of staying silent.
This hashtag lets people know that if someone witnesses sexual assault, they will stand up and speak out. This hashtag is especially for men and those who are athletes, actresses, actors or producers. This hashtag emphasizes the importance of knowing that if you see something, you should say something and that you should support the survivor.
I know that if I am a victim or if I see someone else being harassed or if I am told by someone that they were abused, I will stand with them and speak up.
If you see, hear or experience sexual abuse, assault or harassment, you can call the hotline National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
You can also contact Cabrini’s Counseling and Psychological Services, Campus Ministry, Health Services, Title IX Coordinator Susan Rohanna or any trusted professor or adviser.
