There has been a sea change in American culture: Victims of sexual harassment and assault are raising their voices and they are being heard. As extraordinary as the actual hearing the voices of victims has been, the end of victim silence is possibly even more important.
Between 1995 and 2013, Women between 18 and 24 were more likely to be sexually victimized than any other group of women.1 For college women, 80% of these assaults are never reported to the police.2 One in 16 men are assaulted while in college.3 The rates of sexual assault for members of the LGBTQ community are even higher.4 The suffering from and management of sexual and sex-based microaggressions, sexual and sex-based harassment, and sexual assault in college contexts is something that blocks women’s (an any victim’s) access to higher education.
Adding insult to the injury are the side effects and harms of keeping silent. Shame, embarassment, fear of retribution, fear of not being believed are just a few of the reasons why victims of sexual violence keep quiet. That silence has two devastating effects: in many cases, it eats away at the victim creating self-doubt, lowering self-esteem. Rape victims have higher incidents of depression, PTSD, suicidal ideations, and suicide. Silence about sexual harassment and assault makes that violence and its victims invisible and begets more silence. We have an unusual opportunity to break the cycle of silence for good.
As part of the project to make UMD a safe and healthy place for all types of people to not just survive but to thrive, in collaboration with the Women’s Resource and Action Center, the CLA Change Team will be hosting a speak out inviting students, staff, and faculty; him, her, them, and zem to share their stories of sexual harassment and assault. Join us on Tuesday, March 20 at Noon in the KSC Garage to share your stories and support others telling theirs.
If you have a story to tell but aren’t ready to tell it yourself, you can submit your story anonymously. The CLA Change team will be collecting these stories to present some of them at the speak out, but we also want to end the silence for good. We will keep an ongoing record of the voices of victims; we will no longer pretend that we’re safe, when we aren’t.
#TimesUp #MeToo #ICantKeepQuiet #NoMoreSilence.
1. https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsavcaf9513.pdf