Why we need sexual violence awareness month in 2025
Staff Editorial
Sexual Assault Awareness Month provides a crucial platform to raise awareness, promote prevention and amplify the voices and stories of survivors of sexual assault. It encourages conversations about consent, healthy relationships and the importance of accountability. As long as sexual violence persists, initiatives like Sexual Assault Awareness Month are vital when it comes to creating a society that prioritizes safety, respect and healing for all.
According to the Rape Abuse Incest National Network,“every 68 seconds, an American is sexually assaulted […] every nine minutes, that victim is a child. Meanwhile, only 25 out of every 1,000 perpetrators will end up in prison.” Sexual assault has been and continues to impact individuals and communities across not just the United States, but the world. Despite progress in education and advocacy, many survivors still face stigma, underreporting and gaps in support services.
2023 study by the National Institute of Health found that approximately 90 to 95% of cases of sexual violence against men go unreported. It is crucial to alleviate the stigma surrounding male survivors. Creating an environment where all victims feel safe to come forward is essential for fostering healing and support. Many cultural norms around masculinity contribute to attitudes that condone or ignore sexual violence, men play an especially important role in challenging these norms by promoting healthier models of masculinity that emphasize respect, consent and empathy.
National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that media creates important benchmarks and establishes norms. “We absorb media images, television depictions and advertisements at such a young age that we tend to think of them as reflections of how things are the world instead of constructions made by other people,” said a report by the NSVRC.
Rape culture is not created out of nothing. Pop culture normalizes sexual violence in media, music and entertainment, and creates an environment where such violence is harder to address and therefore excused. In rom coms, persistent behavior is rewarded, with characters “not taking no for an answer” when their advances are rejected. In “The Notebook,” for example, Noah gets Allie to go on a date with him by dangling from a Ferris wheel, essentially threatening suicide unless she agrees to go out with him. Instances like this are often portrayed as grand romantic gestures or dismissed as humor, but in reality, they reflect harmful attitudes towards consent that have serious real life consequences.
Our culture is also apt to blame victims of violence. According to Ballard Brief, a research publication at Brigham Young University, American culture promotes blaming victims and the belief of “rape myths” or misconceptions and stereotypes about sexual violence and it’s victims. This harmful aspect of American culture contributes to the underreporting of sexual violence cases and attrition rates for sexual violence cases.
Though it can be hard to feel like any one action can make a real difference in ending sexual violence, each of us has the power to do just that. Believing survivors is a key step. When a survivor is brave enough to share their story, the act of listening creates a supportive environment for the survivor to process and decide what next steps to take. Support also means calling out harassment, whether that’s holding a friend who made a sexist joke accountable or shutting down catcalling on the street. Using one’s voice is the simplest way to show solidarity against perpetrators of sexual violence and harassment, big and small.
Editor-in-Chief: Jordan Premmer, Chief Copy Editor: Sophia McCrackin, Managing Editor: Jordan DelFiugo, Opinion Editor: Dakota Duran, Scene Editor: Elina Graham
