Prevention Through A Digital Platform by Benedictine University blogger Karly Sacco

We have been living in a world that has been taken over by the power of social media for some years now. People feel more comfortable with opening up on websites and blogs because we are hidden behind a computer screen and can be anyone we want to be. Digital platforms have become a great way for those who are afraid to speak up in person to express their feelings and stories. Social medias are taking over the way we communicate and there isn’t any way around it so we might as well start incorporating it in most things that we do. Expression via Internet should always be an opinion for those to have when going through a difficult time.

Current sexual assault prevention programs should improve their content by offering more digital platforms for their members to speak through along with in person conversations.

There are a countless numbers of social media sites that can be a part of a program to help make it easier for people to communicate.

For example, Twitter. A prevention program can tweet out encouraging statements to get people struggling through their day with a little motivation. They can tweet out a Q&A so fellow members of the program can chat on a public platform and can relate to each other’s problems without being face to face. I am not saying that this is a perfect idea, but for those that are suffering, anything is worth a try to help them even in the smallest way. A lot of people say that social media is taking away from face to face interactions and being personable with one another. To that I say, what about Skype? This program would help immensely with prevention programs. The members of a program can all get together and have a Skype session with people across the world to discuss stories, prevention ideas, and just relate to each other.

Like I said before, the world is turning into a digital one, and  just by adding a few social media sites can positively change prevention programs by connecting people all over the world.

Parents Have a Say for Safety at College by Benedictine University blogger Karly

It is completely understandable for parents to be concerned about their children’s safety when it comes to picking the right college for them. Ever since they sent them off to school, parents have had their watchful eye on their kids. From kindergarten to senior year of high school, the safety of their kids has been in their hands. But when the time comes for their kids to leave the city, state, or even country, it is extremely important for a parent to feel comfortable sending their babies to a safe place to live. There are many ways for parents to actively support their children and their decision for college when they are concerned with safety issues. Here are a few…

1. Visit the College with your Child: If the school is close enough to make a trip to, pack your bags and head over to check out how safe the campus is. It is one thing for your child to tell you about the campus they are going to be living on, but when a parent is actually there in person to get a feel for the environment it changes everything completely. Just walking around the campus can give anyone a feel of how safe it can or cannot be on a day-to-day basis.

2. Get Involved On a Safety Board/ State One: If your child is really interested in going to a certain school and you know that it might not be the safest school, maybe it is time to change that and do something about it. If the school has some sort of safety board that you can join; sign up! There is always room to make a difference to keep a school safe from sexual assaults and other kinds of dangerous behavior. If for some reason the college your child really wants to go to does not have any kind of safety board or group to join, start one! I am sure that if a school has enough trouble going on that more than a few parents would love to join a cause to help prevent events from occurring.

3. Let your Kid know You Care: If you are unfortunately located too far away from the school that your child is going to there are still some ways that you as a parent can support your child's choice of school. Let them know that you are there for them. Give them a call or text every once in a while to let them know that no matter what the situation is you will be there for them to talk to at anytime. Sometimes the most important thing to have is an open ear and an open heart for someone that is suffering.

Students Should Speak Up by Benedictine University blogger Karly

It is a scary topic. Most people feel uncomfortable when it is brought up but the truth of the matter is it has to be talked about. College students rarely discuss the issue of sexual assaults on campuses. Being a college student myself, I will admit that it is a very difficult topic to grasp because the reality is that unfortunate incidents of sexual assaults do happen on college campuses. However, most of us do not realize that it is really up to us to make a difference to prevent assaults from happening in the future. Here are a few ways that college students can get involved to help prevent sexual assaults on campus.

Increase male participation- In my personal opinion I feel that more girls than guys at colleges are aware of the topic of sexual assaults and how to prevent them from happening. If more boys were aware of the outcomes that assaults cause on the victims I feel that they will hopefully get more involved and spread the word of awareness.

Don’t get involved with the wrong people- We can only do so much to try and prevent sexual assaults from happening at college, but unfortunately it still does happen so the most important thing to do is to be smart and don’t make bad choices or put yourself into sticky situations and hopefully this wil be the biggest aspect in preventing sexual assault.

Be more than a Bystander - Don’t be afraid to speak up. I know that it can be really hard if someone that you are close to or are friends with is a victim of sexual assault but in the long run it will benefit them if you SPEAK UP and tell someone that can do something about it so that it does not happen again.

If the unfortunate incident of a sexual assault occurs on a college campus students should make the victim feel comfortable, giving them a safe environment.  

"Awareness is Key" by blogger Allisyn Ruttle from Pitzer College

Something happened on my campus this semester. Something created a buzz that’s still sending us into a frame of mind never before seen.

We all received our first sexual assault notification email from administration a few months back. Everyone talked about it. It gave no explicit detail, just simply when and where and guidelines for how to prevent it in the future. We were all surprised. Why hadn’t we been notified of these situations before? Why now?

The emails kept coming. Notifications of sexual violence came flooding into my inbox. Now, we see at least 1 per weekend, if not 2-3.

Students became passionately outraged, posing various, impulsive questions:

“Why are there so many sexual assaults happening on campus now?”

“Who is responsible? Students? People in the community?”

“What about our campus culture has changed to invite such behavior on such a regular basis?”

Here is the thing, though. It took me just as long as everyone else to see through my own concern to reach the harsh truth. These emails don’t indicate a sudden burst of sexually violent activity. Cases have been that frequent all along, and it used to be so easy to blind ourselves from the truth. Now that administration is making all of us aware, we can’t help but become actively concerned. We can’t help but stand up and fight.

The results of the awareness-spreading emails, as sad as they are to read, have been astonishing. Three of the five Claremont Colleges now have legitimate advocate groups in support of survivors, and they all meet more often than they ever have before. Initiatives like the growing “Yes Means Yes” campaign are making way, and the general student body is excited to engage in the support of survivors and prevention of sexual violence on the campus they call home.

Survivors themselves have also been affected by the rise of awareness. Discussions and support groups have reached a pinnacle in attendance. They feel more proactive with reporting their cases, because they know the powers that be are taking some sort of initiative to do something about it, even if it is just a simple email with no detail.  For the first time, something is being done to encourage survivors to move forward, and I could not be more proud of my campus.

Solidarity in Breaking the Silence- by Bradley University blogger Ashley

It’s never an easy move to make the decision to share the truth of your assault with a friend or trusted loved one, and it’s even harder to share this truth with “strangers” in your college community. Unless you attend a very small institution, the likelihood of even 15% of the school population recognizing you is slim. Regardless of whether we personally know each other or not, we are now united as a family larger than our parents, siblings, aunts, uncles, grandparents, etc. Just because we don’t know each other doesn’t mean we can’t support each other, right?

Unfortunately, there tends to be an overwhelming sense of disbelief when word gets around that someone is “claiming” to have been assaulted. Instead of first worrying about the victim, many people jump to blaming the person— “Oh, well how can we be sure that really happened? You know people lie to get attention.” I understand why so many survivors remain silent.

Even when it seems like so many people are against you, or simply so nonchalant because you’re not their friend or family, there are still many people ready to support you the minute you break your silence. On campus, if the opportunities are not already present, there are other ways to share your experience with others.

•  At this year’s Vagina Monologues, some women walked up and stated that they were a survivor or supported survivors. This sparked conversations after the show that resulted in survivors feeling less alone and others joining the fight to end sexual assault.
• If you’re a writer, writing a poem and sharing it at an open mic night is another platform to share. People learn what paths you’ve walked and view you as an even stronger person for speaking in a room full of (mostly) unfamiliar faces. You also never know who’s in the crowd and really appreciates your strength to speak up when they cannot.
•  Bring a survivor to speak on campus and share your story after their presentation. It’s not super easy to bring speakers to campus, but with the support of other campus organizations, this is one of the best ways to get other survivors on campus to share their experience, as well as reach the larger campus community. Hearing how someone has moved forward in life after their experience can ignite courage in so many others to break the silence.
•  During weeks dedicated to sexual assault prevention and education, consider having a table in a central location on campus. Not only can you educate your fellow colleagues in an informal way, but you can also share your story with those who choose to stop by and listen.

These are just a few ways that survivors can at least feel more comfortable with sharing their experience with the campus community. No one’s expecting you to walk on stage a week later and yell to the world that you are a survivor; healing takes time. You will heal even more and grow stronger the day you share your story. Your story is important and should be heard. You are a survivor.

Rape Prevention by blogger Shaleen

It is common knowledge that many traditional families instill the thought that men should “protect” women but when it comes to stopping or acknowledging a possible sexual assault, many question themselves. We see all the time in movies that when men see an assault, he stutters or questions himself and how he would be viewed. Many colleges are stopping the victim from speaking out of even pressing charges. The lack of prevention is outstanding because educated human beings should know that it is not a woman’s fault, ever.

Women are taught to not get raped instead of men getting taught not to rape. It’s a simple enough concept but then again, it happens. Zerlina Maxwell from Ebony.com, wrote an article called, “5 Ways We Can Teach Men Not to Rape.” I understand where articles like the get their theme of the article but that thought should be instilled in everyone from birth. It should not have to be taught.

Every man and woman are responsible for their actions, including not stopping someone be raped. Education equals prevention. There are many men who are feminists from Jimmy Carter to Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Where these men consider themselves a feminist or the media spanned their words, I’ll never know. All that aside, feminism is the radical notion that all women are human beings.