On the 17th anniversary of the Violence Against Women Act, VP Joe Biden (a co-author of the law) announced a new white house initiative called “1 is 2 Many” that focuses on ending violence against teens and young women ages 16-24 because they are the most vulnerable to sexual harassment, sexual assault, and dating violence.
I applaud these efforts and love the campaign name. One assault IS too many. It is unacceptable that anyone should perpetrate such hate and harm. We are a culture and country that prides itself on freedom, liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness, but when most girls face harassment and assault simply because they are female, where is their freedom, their liberty, their justice when they report it? How they can fully pursue happiness?
They cannot.
Our country will never be great until teens and young women stop facing sexual harassment and assault everywhere they go:
*from sexual harassment in schools (more than 8 in 10)
*and sexual assault in college (1 in 5)
* to harassment on the streets (nearly 90% of women face this by age 19)
* and in dating relationships (1 in 10).
Most alarmingly, too many teens also experience the worst betrayal of trust: incest and abuse within their own homes, something I heard about all too often during my 2.5 years as an online hotline counselor for the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.
These are very depressing statistics, especially considering the efforts of many organizations, people, and pieces of government legislation aimed at ending the violence.
Focusing on prevention is still relatively new and I really appreciate that the white house campaign is focusing on prevention in their campaign. That is the only thing that will create sustainable change. The campaign page states:
“By targeting the importance of changing attitudes that lead to violence and educating the public on the realities of abuse, the Vice President is leading the way in an effort to stop violence against women before it begins.”
To start, they are soliciting ideas. They say:
“As teens and young women across the country head back to school this month, tell us how you think we can make campuses safer for all students and share your ideas for preventing dating violence and sexual assault. From September 13th – the 17th anniversary of the passage of the Violence Against Women Act – to September 27th, use the form to submit your ideas, or use the hashtag #1is2many to share on Twitter.”
So, share YOUR voice and ideas with the white house. Let us brainstorm and work together to figure out how we can make our society one where girls and women truly can be free and fully pursue happiness.
