Sexual Assault On College Campuses

 Here we are in the middle of April! It's crazy to sit back and think about how far this blog has come in just a few months. It blows my mind to think of how many blog posts we have shared together already and how many more there are to come! Thank you everyone for still sticking around to come and read on Tuesdays and Thursdays. You are why Lex and I write every week and we hope to keep you wanting more for a long time! 

I also was notified that the automatic emails will be stopping in July. The website will be discontinuing them. If you want an email sent to you by me so you remember to check it out, drop your email down in the comments or you can privately message me on Facebook. If neither of these options works for you, I can give you my phone number and we can chat that way! Thank you for understanding and being cooperative. 

Now, this week Lex and I wanted to talk about social issues that we are passionate about. Lex chose Fast Fashion, and she has taught me so much about the topic. I had heard of it, but never really knew the true effects that it can cause. Lex has also gotten into repurposing clothing. If I was talented enough, I would do it too! But, I try to shop secondhand or at places that are not known for using fast fashion as much as I can. 

I want to talk about sexual assault on college campuses because this social issue has not really changed in the last few years. This topic is very important to me and I feel that many people don't know that it is still such an issue. More colleges address the situation and try to inform students about it, but that doesn't stop it from happening. I am currently doing a paper in school about this topic as well. So my sources are trustworthy! 

Many studies have shown that the number of sexual assaults that happen have not gone down, but have stayed the same or in some places, slightly increased. Most assaults are between people who knew each other, and 50% of the time, alcohol was involved in both the survivor and the attacker. This makes it harder to pursue a case because if both parties were so intoxicated that they don't remember every detail, both sides can be blamed for things no one is certain of happening. Almost all sexual assault attacks happen in on-campus housing. People who live on campus have a higher risk of being assaulted than people who do not live on campus or attend college at all. 

There are many resources to help survivors after they have been assaulted, but there are hardly any resources to help prevent these attacks from happening. Hope House of South Central Wisconsin helps people in domestic violence or sexual assault situations. I am very passionate about helping Hope House in any way that I can. That's why during the holiday season, I collect donations and bring them to Hope House to help the people that need it. Protecting college students from sexual assaults is harder than helping them after the fact, but there is still not enough being done. Some colleges had self-defense classes for a while but canceled them due to the thought that this was promoting blame on the survivors for not being prepared. This is not the case! Learning how to defend yourself is a way to prevent future acts of violence. I want to learn how to better defend myself in general. The added benefit of knowing how to get out of a sexual assault situation is a bonus. I want to try to get a self-defense class started at UWGB so everyone can feel safe and protected, at least by themselves. 

I hope I was able to give you some new information so everyone can know just how serious this situation is and that it is not going to get better until colleges do better. I could go on about this subject forever, but I have homework to do as well. Thank you all so much for reading, and if you have any questions or ideas on how to make colleges a safer place, please leave a comment! 

Mad out...