It has been a roller coaster of emotions for some survivors of sexual assault this week — a sense of empowerment to see Syracuse behind the It’s On Us campaign and a vivid reminder of the never-ending pain of our assault. As a survivor, I am less concerned with posters and speakers than with what action is taking place to prevent sexual violence, educate our community and support survivors.

When I walk by the fraternity where I was raped and see a poster that says, “Yes Means Yes,” it appears like putting a Band-Aid on a wound that needs stitches and feels like salt in the wound. My assault is so insignificant to these individuals that they think a simple white banner will alleviate them from any blame or accountability of what happened behind closed doors.

Awareness can only do so much; at a certain point, an epidemic such as this requires action. Any university can support It’s On Us without any requirements. A university that supports It’s On Us could easily be violating Title IX.

According to the Annual Security Report in the year 2014, there were two reports of rape, ten reports of fondling and five reports of dating violence.

The It’s On Us campaign states that 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted before they graduate. A newer report from the Association of American Universities surveyed about 150,000 students at 27 universities and found that 1 in 4 women are sexually assaulted during their time at college.

When 1 in 5 is applied to Syracuse University campus, there are 1,599 women affected by sexual violence. If the statistic of 1 in 4 is more applicable, the number would be closer to 1,998. Those mere two reports of rape do not begin to represent the near 2,000 survivors. The university has not effectively acknowledged the issue of underreporting.

We aren’t one of the 139 colleges being investigated for Title IX violations, but we are by no means perfect. I sat in those listening meetings with the chancellor’s task force, and still felt the empty echo of my concerns, ideas and fears. The truth is that our university isn’t as bad at handling sexual assault cases as other schools, but the 1 in 4 statistic still applies here. I will not be satisfied until these public relation tactics turn into action and the 1 in 4 becomes zero.

A full version of this post can be viewed online later this week on The Girl Code Movement blog.

Marissa Blanchard
Broadcast & Digital Journalism and Marketing Management Dual Major
Class of 2016

Published on November 12, 2015 at 1:02 am