Video Diary Assignment- The Hunting Ground (Frances Hubbard, Ginger Haller, Tess Kihm)

               Sexual assault is a horrible and violent crime and it is especially prevalent on college campuses. Claims of sexual assault are often dismissed or hidden from the public in order to protect the college's reputation and endowments. It is important that awareness is brought to this issue so that victims are able to report the crimes and seek help. It's also important so we can decrease the stigma surrounding sexual assault and help survivors begin to heal. In recent years many colleges have made it increasingly difficult to report rape, and often blame the survivor instead of the perpetrator. We must raise awareness of this issue, in order to help combat this epidemic.
One very important way to raise awareness is to encourage survivors -both men and women- to share their stories of sexual assault. By putting faces to stories, people across the world are able to greater empathize with the survivors. Their stories have the power to inspire people across the country to support victims and advocate for justice. Additionally, as shown in the documentary "The Hunting Ground" when one survivor shares their stories, it inspires others to come forward. Not only does sharing experiences help create awareness and empathy, it can also help the survivors as well. Talking and sharing their experiences helps with the healing process, while at the same time educating others. It can be scary to share stories and even hear stories of violent sexual and interpersonal assault, but the more conversations and stories are shared, the stigmas can disappear. (Tess Kihm)

               Another way to raise awareness is by using social media. Websites like Facebook and Twitter can reach millions of people, and they are a fast, up-to-date way to share information. Stories, facts, or anything else relating to sexual assault can easily be shared through these outlets, and since it reaches such a large audience this can really help bring light to the issue. It is also easy to remain anonymous online which makes people more likely to share their experiences. There are a ton of stories and even people to reach out to and connect with across the internet. Social media can connect people from all around the globe so they are able to support and be there for eachother. It can be used as a safe space for victims to share their experiences. (Ginger Haller)

One resource for activists and sexual assault survivors is an organization called Students Active For Ending Rape (SAFER) which provides information about crisis resources, sexual and interpersonal violence, sexual assault policy, activism and awareness resources, and tools to build student-led movements on college campuses.  SAFER was started in 2000 by a group of students from Columbia University after they organized a successful campaign to bring awareness to the issue of sexual violence on campus.  Since their creation a revolving board of student activists have run the organization. According to their website SAFER "strengthens student-led movements to combat sexual and interpersonal violence in campus communities" and works to "educate on matters related to campus assault and policy reform." SAFER is a tax-exempt non-profit, but it is not clear where their funding comes from, besides donations. SAFER writes that donations help to"...provide low or no cost training and mentoring to students who are working to change their schools' policies and culture ... [and donations help] ...to conduct research on the sexual assault policies and practices at colleges and universities around the country." There is not much media attention on SAFER, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. If there isn't a big media presence around the organization, more focus can be placed on the college campuses and it allows for the credibility of SAFER to be spread through word of mouth. (Frances Hubbard)