USC’s “It’s On Us” initiative continued its fall Week of Action on Tuesday night with an open panel discussing sexual assault in the media. The speakers and audience engaged in a discussion of the stigmatization of rape in Western culture and the effects that stigma has on victims.
“When I started to share my story, I saw what an impact it had, and If I can help one person not go through this — or make their process better because I can't stop it all — then that’s why I do this,” said Mary-Copeland Cain,co-director of It’s On Us.
Cain also emphasized the importance of unconditionally supporting survivors of sexual assault, stating that “I believe you” are the most important words one can say to a victim.
“That's a huge stigma — that people don’t get believed,” Cain said.
Members of the audience were active participants in the panel throughout the night. Jared Neeley, a third-year psychology student, voiced his frustrations with societal misconceptions of sexual violence.
“People don’t understand what rape culture is. People don’t understand that it’s not that we don’t think it’s right; it’s the fact that it’s happening and that these influences are very strong — media influences are very strong.”
The initiative co-hosted the event with Individuals Respecting Identities and Sexualities, an organization for LGBTQ students at USC. Kaitlin McClamrock, president of IRIS, expressed her concerns about sexual violence in the LGBTQ community.
“There are very few protections; there still exists gaps in lots of protections, legally, for people in same-sex relationships.”
Michael Parks, USC’s student body president, was in attendance at Tuesday’s panel. He showed optimism at the campaign’s potential for future growth at USC.
“It’s On Us is on its way to becoming a household name in our student body,” Parks said. “It’s just been awesome to see so many different groups rally behind the It’s On Us campaign.”
Tuesday night’s panel represented a transition into discussion of the more serious issues surrounding sexual violence. The Week of Action kicked-off on Monday night with a kickball tournament. It’s On Us has several more events planned for the week. The next event will be a candlelight vigil for survivors of sexual assault. It will be held on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Rutledge Chapel.