Mariska Hargitays Lack Of Support For Victims Of Sexual Assault

“Over half a million women are raped in this country every year, and only a fraction of them report it because they’re too ashamed. It’s a really screwed up world, but it’s not your fault, and what happened to you, it doesn’t make you the monster” is a quote from Mariska Hargitay. She is an American actress, director, and producer that refers to the lack of support for victims of sexual assault. College campuses should follow in Mariska Hargitays’ footsteps since she is a key role model for supporting survivors of sexual assault. The victim needs to be the top priority to avoid the trauma of their assault being compounded by the lack of support and disciplinary action. College campuses must ensure safety among the large numbers of victimized

Many schools don’t take sexual assault as a serious matter, but “Title IX obligates schools to take action on sexual assault” (Goldberg 14). Efforts need to be made to force schools to take sexual assault more seriously, and the “Dear Colleague” letter is a leading example that colleges must follow. The “Dear Colleague” letter was able to “scare colleges and universities about the possibility of losing federal funding if they didn’t do what the government wanted them to do” (Goldberg 14). The federal government should withhold funding often if colleges fail at fulfilling the Title IX requirements. There would be more protection for the victims as well as a greater possibility of justice being attained for the victim. The “Dear Colleague” letter made universities revise their sexual harassment guidelines as well as give students and staff resources to raise awareness and prevention of sexual assault. Schools must “end a so-called ‘hostile environment’; prevent its future occurrence; and restore victims’ lives” under Title IX (Lombardi 7). If punishment fails to meet these requirements, Title IX is potentially violated. Title IX gives no reference to educating the offender because it is a civil right that prohibits sexual discrimination and enforces schools to be proactive in ensuring an environment free of sexual discrimination. Under Title IX, expulsion seems appears to be a given since leaving a perpetrator on the college campus is a gateway to a hostile environment. Universities must investigate and address any instances of sexual misconduct, instead of waiting for potential victims to bring allegations forward. The federal government should regularly investigate college campuses if they are satisfying the Title IX requirements. If universities are failing to do so, then the schools’ reputations should take a hit