Here at Spoon University, we get to write about a lot of topics that are unbelievably rad. Getting to spend my time eating ice cream for every meal or figuring out how to eat my way across Canada is a dream come true. But every now and again, there are certain topics that you know are more important to write about than ice cream. Rape culture on our campuses is one of them.
With over 23% of female undergraduate students and 5.4% of male undergraduate students having been through some form of sexual assault, it’s a big deal. To get an idea of what can be done to stop this, I decided to talk to the VP Internal of my Student Union and get her take on it.
1. Believe, Believe, Believe
The number one thing anyone (not just universities) can do to stop rape culture is to believe survivors. Only once we stop second-guessing victims and start believing that they did not “ask for it” or “deserve” it, can we start making our campuses safer.
2. Take the Issue Seriously
In the case of my school, the university administration has shown that they don’t take rape culture or survivor support seriously again and again. But they can change this by providing programs with enough money to run successfully and also by listening to student concerns.
3. Make It Easier to Find Support
One way Dal U has started to improve support is by making school policy and the steps to get support easier to follow. This makes sure that what may be an already hard situation doesn’t have to get harder.
4. Spread Awareness
Universities can do this by giving talks about consent during orientation week and supporting student-led awareness campaigns year-round. The more people know about the problem, the more we can do to solve it.
5. Get Students Involved
By getting students involved, rape culture can be fought from the ground up. As students, we can do our part by getting informed and talking about it with our friends! This type of peer-peer exchange does wonders. You can also get involved in initiatives to create survivor support programs, like Dal’s Survivor Support Levy.
Even just by reading this article you have made a difference in dismantling rape culture. But it’s up to you, and to all of us, to go out into our schools and create the change we want to see. What are we waiting for?