Daily activism can dismantle rape culture

“May we have your attention please / We’re looking for the fun ones / And say f**k off to a tease.”

Those were the words of OZ, an off-campus fraternity at the University of Pennsylvania, in an email in late August inviting women to a party at the beginning of the school year. The email contained numerous offensive remarks — including the excerpt above — and resembled an invite sent last year for the same event.

The email, in poem form, continued, “Wednesday nights will get you going / With Bankers flowing all night / Tonight is your first showing / So please wear something tight.” Earlier this month, a group of female students posted about 600 copies of the email around campus with the words, “This is what rape culture looks like” written across them in protest.

The university released a statement saying that the email was appalling. Ron Ozio, director of media relations for the university, said the email was “offensive and has no place at Penn.” He also stated that “sexual harassment and sexual assault are unacceptable and will not be tolerated on campus.” Monica Yant Kinney, executive director of communications and external affairs for undergraduate life, however, pointed to a letter previously sent to parents of undergraduates, clearly specifying that all off-campus fraternities are unaffiliated with Penn.

Since OZ is not an official campus fraternity, there is not much the university can do on a disciplinary level. The fraternity is able to send sexist emails like this one, as it has in the past, without being punished by the university. It seems the university only responded this time because students protested.

But even if the university could hold someone accountable, the problem persists not as a Penn-specific issue, but a cultural one. When institutions fail to take action on inexcusable behavior, it is up to the student body to take action for ourselves. We can all be advocates on a daily basis to address sexual assault and degrading language.

I have a button on my backpack that I received from a seminar on consent my first year that says, “I ask first.” Whenever somebody asks me what that pin means, I have the opportunity to talk with them about consent and sexual assault on campus.

Protesting, holding open forums and covering campus in fliers are all important and admirable ways to fight rape culture. But there are small ways we can all contribute every day to the larger discussion about sexual harassment, assault and microaggressions on campuses.

Simply supporting victims of sexual assault can be the most effective way to combat dangerous stigmas and social ills. If a friend experiences sexual assault, it’s important to be there for him or her. While it is optimal for this friend to seek the support of a professional — and you should encourage him or her to do so — whether you respond negatively or positively has the ability to mold the experience of the victim.

By not speaking out, we are perpetuating a society that objectifies women and normalizes sexual violence.

In class this past week, a classmate shared a story about two boys she was sitting next to while eating lunch on campus. They were arguing over whether a woman they had met was “hot” or “ugly,” objectifying her in open conversation. The way these young men were so openly demeaning this woman proves how desensitized they’ve become by a culture that does not respect women.

As a young female student, I am very much aware of the existence of rape culture on college campuses all across America. I’ve been told, along with thousands of other girls my age, that we should not stay out too late at night, that we should be mindful of what we wear and that we shouldn’t give any boys the “wrong idea” because something bad could happen to us that we would regret.

According to Pitt’s AAU Campus Climate Survey, 23.6 percent of female undergraduates reported experiencing non-consensual penetration or sexual touching by force or incapacitation by their senior year.

Greek life, and the party and heavy drinking atmosphere that often accompanies it, offers the perfect example of how normalized rape culture has become.

At campus fraternity parties, It is often normal for women to get in for free, while guys have to pay. Men frequently won’t be allowed into parties unless they have a group of women with them. We don’t think of this as out of the ordinary, but this essentially means guys are paying to be in the presence of drunk women.

Investigations by the FBI and Department of Justice found that out of 100 rapes, 46 get reported to the police. Only 12 of these reports will lead to arrest, and five to a felony conviction. Only three out of 100 rapists will spend even one day in prison.

Think of all the college students who received little to no jail time for rape. Think of Brock Turner. Think of Austin Wilkerson. Think of John Enochs — charged with two counts of felony rape but, because of a plea bargain, went to prison for a single day for misdemeanor battery.

I know it sounds like wearing a pin or having a conversation means nothing in the face of such serious offenses. But daily activism is a way to fight against rape culture in subtle but meaningful ways through our interactions, conversations and everyday routines. It takes every one of us making changes in our everyday lives to challenge sexist cultural norms.

Call out your friend for making a joke about rape. Listen to someone’s experience without trying to find a reason for why it happened or by invalidating their experience. Stop others from talking down on somebody who has come forward with their experience with assault.

You may even have the ability to help prevent assault from occurring in the first place by way of bystander intervention. At its most basic level, bystander intervention is the act of someone preventing a potentially harmful situation from escalating by intervening and preventing the inappropriate actions of another. Bystander intervention can also involve speaking out against comments that promote sexual violence, or making sure a drunken student at a party gets home safely. Beyond that, it involves stepping up when we see others making sexual violence acceptable in our culture.

In the same AAU study at Pitt, among those who had witnessed somebody headed to a sexual encounter, a total of 79.7 percent indicated that they did nothing, with 23.7 percent saying they weren’t sure what to do and 56 percent saying they did nothing for another reason.

If we want to make a change, we must be talking openly about rape on college campuses. It shouldn’t be a taboo discussion. Sexual assault can happen anywhere or anytime.

By engaging in everyday activism, you are working to make a difference is somebody’s life. This isn’t an issue of liberal vs. conservative, nor is it a women’s fight. It is an issue of respect and equality. This is an issue that affects us all.  

Write to Erica Brandbergh at elb116@pitt.edu.