Courtesy: ncaa.org
“This pledge is a personal commitment to help keep women and men safe from sexual assault. It is a promise not to be a bystander to the problem but to be a part of the solution.”
These words introduce the “It’s On Us” pledge, a campaign launched by President Barack Obama last month to end sexual assault on college campuses.
Ole Miss is among the most recent colleges—one of only three in the state—to sign the pledge.
As of Sept. 29, 242 universities across the country had committed to the campaign, including six of the fourteen Southeastern Conference schools. The campaign, aside from urging students and community members to vocalize against campus sexual assault, provides tools for organizing campus and community events and public service announcements.
“Today we’re taking a step and joining with people across the country to change our culture and help prevent sexual assault from happening,” Obama said during a press conference at the launch of the “It’s On Us” campaign. “As far as we’ve come, the fact is that from sports leagues to pop culture to politics, our society still does not sufficiently value women, and we still don’t condemn sexual assault as loudly as we should. We make excuses. We look the other way.”
One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted in college, according to the “It’s On Us” campaign and the National Campus Leadership Council. Only 13 percent of rape survivors report assault, and eight in 10 victims were previously acquainted with their attacker.
It’s not only the schools themselves, however, who are sponsoring the campaign. The Atlantic 10, Big 10 and Pac 12 conferences have all signed the pledge as has the NCAA itself and several corporate sponsors. Celebrities such as Jon Hamm, Kerry Washington, Rose Byrne, Kevin Love and more have all appeared in PSAs for the “It’s On Us” campaign.
The National Campus Leadership Council, a sponsor of the campaign, highlights several ways in which campus communities can participate in getting the word out about sexual assault prevention, including digital campaigns and hosting events for National Campus Conversation Week, which begins Nov. 17.
Though it’s impossible to say how many cases of sexual assault occur on and off campus without being reported, Ole Miss has not been immune to cases of sexual assault. Just last semester, Ole Miss freshman defensive back Bobby Hill was charged and arrested for sexual battery.
Previously, the FBI’s most recent university and college crime reports from 2011 show that seven forcible rapes were reported at Ole Miss that year. None were reported at any other investigated school in Mississippi.
