A revolutionary group of student leaders are changing the conversation surrounding sexual assault and domestic violence on US college campuses.
Led by Jake Comito, a Rutgers University junior (that’s 3rd year for the non-US folks), US students have teamed up with the Joyful Heart Foundation, the national ‘No More’ Campaign, and various University departments to bring awareness to these issues.
The University offshoot of this campaign is intended to change this haunting statistics on domestic violence and sexual assualt at US colleges: One in five of every young woman dropped off for that first day of University will be assaulted in her college years.
Here's another haunting statisic: The number of lives lost due to domestic violence is almost double the number of american lives lost from the war in Afghanistan. The number of American troops killed between 2001 and 2012 was 6,488. The number of American women murdered by current or ex male partners during that time was 11,766.
Globally, numbers like these are only higher.
Jake, and two female University students (small disclaimer: this includes myself, the as Vice President of the Rutgers based organization, as well as Summer McSpirit, the Secretary) have founded the first on campus organization specifically to support the No More Campaign, an initiative to end domestic abuse and sexual assault.
The local chapter is called: #RUSaysNoMore
The national No More campaign is best known for it’s emotional and moving PSAs showcasing famous actresses, athletes, and political leaders standing up and saying “No More” to the stereotypes and stigmas often assigned to victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.
A common tactic of the national campaign is to deploy postsers to fight common phrases around domestic violence. The celebrities on these posters can be seen displaying stark, grim faces and common sayings such as, “She was asking for it”, “What kind of guy would let that happen to them”, or “Well, she was drunk.” They accompany the headshots of these public figures, and are posted below the words ‘NO More’.
With seven foam boards and a mission, Comito and friends have adapted these stunning ads to specifically address the Rutgers University community.
They reasoned that if people like Amy Poehler, Eli Manning, and Courtney Cox could stand up to sexual assault and domestic violence, then so could members of their local University community.
“I wanted to receate the flyers and personalize them for our community,” Comito told Global Citizen in an interview. “I didn’t think celebrities were the only people who were able to stand up to this social issue.”
Women are much more likely to be victims of intimate partner violence with 85 percent of domestic abuse victims being women, but that doesn't mean men are not victims.15 percent of men are victims. That means: 1 in 7 men will be victims of severe violence by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. The #RUSaysNoMore campaign aims to address not only the experiences of female survivors, but male survivors as well.
#RUSaysNoMore has recently launched their digital campaign on Instagram, and plans to extend their activism to Twitter and Tumblr.
Since the launch of the campaign on Rutgers’ campus in October, the group has curated all the pictures of students and faculty supporting the initiative under the hashtag #RUSaysNoMore.
They have also been featured in news articles, blogs, and radio stations.
Taylor Miller, the Director of Community Outreach for #RUSaysNoMore, summed up the mission perfectly last week in front of over 400 people in a ‘TED Talk’ style speech, called the Mark Conference.
She told the audience that, “Conversations must happen. Stories must be shared. But not just shared, also believed.
Last night, as a part of No More Week, a national grassroots activation aimed at making domestic violence and sexual assault awareness and prevention a priority year-round, the group successfully executed their debut program, Cover Your Campus. In the middle of the night, over 50 students ran across campus, flyers and tape in hand, and posted around 2,000 pictures on bus stops and in dining halls and student centers.
The morning after, students woke up to find their campus ‘covered’ with flyers of friends and classmates standing up and saying No More.
The mission of #RUSaysNoMore is based on the notion that in order to promote action and make a bigger impact on your community, it is essential to look beyond your own interests and identify with others under the umbrella of our shared humanity.
By seeing classmates, friends, and professors on these flyers, the Rutgers community is urged to identify with these advocates, take on their mission, and then act on behalf of survivors to end sexual assault and domestic violence in their communities.
The US public has seen the horrifying statistics on college campuses, they've empathized with Ke$ha, who has accused her manager of sexual assault, and they’ve watched and listened to Vice President Joe Biden and Lady Gaga at the Oscar's.
The world has witnessed the effects of poverty on domestic violence, they’ve heard about the inequality girls and women face in certain regions, and they’ve cringed at the use of rape as a weapon of war.
Now, it's time to act.
Sexual assault and domestic violence are trending topics nationally and internationally. And it isn’t going away on its own.
World leaders and celebrities can inspire change, but they cannot BE the change.
The change has to be rooted in local communities, and spearheaded by committed people from those communities, like Jake and the students at Rutgers University.
To be an advocate you do not need to be directly affected by an issue. Instead, the biggest change will come when people begin to identify with survivors and their journeys, and work to stop anymore innocent men and women from becoming victims.
Jake Comito is not a victim of sexul assault or domestic violence. Yet, he is the face of a campaign that aims to support and empower survivors while changing behaviors to stop these damaging and horrific acts before they occur. He is an example of what an empathetic person can do when they take on a cause for others.
He, and the entire network of advocates at Rutgers University, represents the power of global citizens to make a difference in their own community and generate a conversation that can change the face of sexual assault and domestic violence everywhere.