I take life for granted. It's easy to lose myself in day-to-day trivialities and forget how truly blessed I am. I'm sure it happens to everyone. I sit here complaining about school food and my room draw number, when the reality is that my life is fairly comfortable. I am a student, arguably the best occupation in the world, and if Dartmouth didn't cost a million dollars a year, I would remain a student forever. I am generally safe, healthy and happy. And yet, I fail to realize how lucky I am, a fact that shames me, especially when I contemplate how much real suffering exists in the world.
This realization wasn't exactly sudden, but it was spurred on particularly by the fact that April is Sexual Abuse Awareness Month. Having gone through Sexual Abuse Peer Advice training last term, I have been more aware of the events being organized to increase education about issues surrounding sexual abuse. In fact, I attended one such event this past Sunday in which a rape survivor and a cast of amazing artists staged a performance to convey the healing of a rape victim. Just watching this presentation was a chilling experience; it is impossible for me to imagine what it must feel like. I went home that night, the performance heavily weighing on my mind. And for the first time in my life, I felt really scared, not of the act of rape itself, but more of the enormous reach of the problem.
Consider these statistics: somewhere in America, a woman is raped every two minutes. One in four college women are victims of rape or attempted rape during her college years. One in three women and one in six men will be sexually assaulted in her/his lifetime. The rate of sexual assault in the United States is the highest of any industrialized nation in the world. I don't know about anyone else, but these stats scare me. And yes, I know that more often than not stats are very misleading, but even so, there can be no denying that the problem of sexual abuse is more widespread than any of us can imagine. Here's another alarming fact: nearly seven in 10 rape and sexual assault victims knew their attacker prior to the assault. Gone are the myths of strangers attacking in dark alleys. The perpetrators are our friends, acquaintances, romantic partners. Frightening, isn't it?
So does this mean we should live in constant fear? Absolutely not. The point of sexual abuse awareness is not to spread fear, but to educate about the problem. It is all too convenient to turn a blind eye to the issue, to not confront the ugly facts because they make us uncomfortable. But the truth is that even relatively safe campuses like ours are not immune to the problem. Just because there isn't a constant dialogue about sexual abuse doesn't mean it doesn't happen on campus. And with the stats as they stand, chances are that every single one of us will know someone who is sexually assaulted before we graduate. So maybe the ultimate goal of educating ourselves about sexual abuse issues is not only to protect ourselves but also to become invaluable resources for those friends who might need our help at some point.
Perhaps the most important thing I learned in SAPA training was to listen. It's hard sometimes to not jump in and state your opinions, but in these cases it's usually better to listen than to start dispensing advice. Just listening to someone's story and believing them can make a difference in their lives. A victim has enough trauma without having to cope with the disbelief they are often confronted with. Sadly enough, the majority of reported rapes don't result in convictions, a fact that is both alarming and discouraging. And more significant is the fact that most assaults aren't even reported. Some changes have to be made if the situation is going to improve. Right now victims don't have enough incentive to report their violation if they know that they won't even get a conviction. There is an urgent need for more stringent, unambiguous laws that will not discourage victims from sharing their stories. This issue is no less important than the state of the economy or our foreign policy and should be given due attention. The issue can no longer be swept under the rug; the time for positive action has arrived.
Sexual abuse doesn't discriminate on the basis of gender, race, religion or ethnicity, so it is a problem that each and every one of us should be concerned about. Maybe if the campus as a whole was more aware of the extent of the problem, we would be a step closer to a solution. I don't mean to imply that sexual abuse is necessarily a pressing issue on this campus; Dartmouth is still a relatively safe campus, but it's not a matter of numbers. If there is even one case of sexual assault on our campus, then we have a problem on our hands. I cannot take my blessings for granted anymore. So the next time I catch myself grumbling about the lines in Food Court, I'll just remind myself that there is someone out there with a more serious problem than the length of the sandwich line.
