A couple of days ago, I received an email from the campaign director of “It’s On Us,” President Obama’s campaign to reduce and eventually end sexual assault and violence on college campuses. The email had a celebratory tone, with the subject line, “It’s Our Birthday,” followed by all of the apparently positive work the campaign has done and the connections it has built during its two years of existence.
I signed the pledge on the campaign website earlier this year, in an effort to see what exactly the endeavor was about. Disappointingly, the results were practically non-existent, beyond a button I clicked to sign the pledge, and an email welcoming me to the cause. In all honesty, I’d forgotten that I even signed the pledge until I opened my inbox to see the birthday announcement.
Since the launch of the no doubt well-meaning campaign in 2014, there has been an outpouring of support from various celebrities in the form of dramatic videos and signed pledges. Vice President Joe Biden has traveled across the country to college campuses, delivering speeches about the horrors of sexual assault and rape, and what student populations can do to prevent sexual violence in their communities. On a smaller scale, student advisory committees and boards have helped form networks between schools all dedicated to making a difference.
On the surface, “It’s On Us” appears to be taking names and making changes, glamorously blazing a trail on the path toward the end of sexual assault and rape. I’m still a little skeptical though of how much an impact the program is really having on college campuses.
According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, women between the ages of 18 and 24 are at a higher risk of being victims of sexual assault or rape. In fact, women aged 18-24 are three times as likely on college campuses to be victims of sexual assault. Furthermore, male college-aged students are 78 percent more likely than non-students to be victims of rape or sexual assault. These are staggering, sickening numbers.
The “It’s On Us” website is not only difficult to navigate, but also distinctly lacking in actual information about rape and sexual assault. The resources tab doesn’t lead to a page of resources for what to do to prevent rape, or where to go to get help for a survivor; instead, it leads to a bright green page with “tips” on what one can do as a bystander to stop sexual assault from happening.
While these tips are definitely constructive, and important to remember and implement, the lack of statistics and tangible information leaves one feeling as though the pledge we are signing is nothing but empty words with no basis in fact.
Only 20 percent of female student victims ages 18-24 report sexual assault to the authorities. College women are twice as likely to be victims of sexual assault than they are to be victims of robberies, according to RAINN. These statistics alone are enough to put into perspective how prevalent and horrific sexual assault on college campuses is, and yet the “It’s On Us” campaign mentions none of it.
Beyond superficial support and extensive media attention, “It’s On Us” does not combat or aid in addressing the pressing issue of the prevalence of sexual assault on campus. As one of my friends put it, if someone were in the act of committing sexual assault, they are not going to stop themselves in the moment because they took a pledge for President Obama and Vice President Biden.
Rather than simply asking students to sign a pledge or donate in order to extend their network of student representatives or celebrity supporters, “It’s On Us” should make more of an effort to spread information about rape and sexual assault. They should put funds toward opening shelters and help-lines, and expand the resources available to colleges and universities across the country.
