Sexual assault is a serious matter and no stranger to college campuses. In an effort to educate the student body on what to do when witnessing an assault, UCF has joined the It’s On Us campaign.
The It’s On Us campaign was an initiative started in The White House through President Obama. According to The White House Blog, it is “an awareness campaign to help put an end to sexual assault on college campuses.”
This campaign launched on Sept. 19, 2014.
At the official White House launch, the President said that “an estimated one in five women has been sexually assaulted during her college years. Of those assaults, only twelve percent of those are reported and of those reported assaults, only a fraction of the offenders are punished.”
The official It’s On Us website stated that the goals for this initiative are “to recognize that non-consensual sex is sexual assault, to identify situations in which sexual assault may occur, to intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given. and to create an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported.”
The campaign centers itself around pledges made by the student body to be active bystanders.
A bystander is a person who is present at an event or incident but does not take part. To be an active bystander, one must not be a mere witness to an assault; they must step in and do all they can to prevent it.
“This pledge is a personal commitment to help keep women and men safe from sexual assault. It is a promise not to be a bystander to the problem, but to be a part of the solution,” says the It’s On Us official website.
UCF has decided to take a stand and join this movement. This semester, It’s On Us has been spotted around campus and in the union asking students to take a picture and sign the pledge.
KnightNews.com spoke to Maureen Hawkins, the UCF Director of Wellness and Health Promotion Services.
According to Hawkins, the main purpose of this campaign is “awareness building and starting the conversation to educate people and our campus/community on what they could do and step in to be an active bystander.”
Hawkins said that this movement is going to impact the UCF community because this movement is an ”umbrella awareness piece of getting students aware of the issue in general.” This campaign educates and “leads into other info on mentors and violence prevention programs. “
Hawkins also wants the student body to know that It’s On Us is not a curriculum but that UCF offers a full on bystander prevention program for those interested.
This campaign has been campus wide. SDES, UCF Health and Wellness, UCF Cares, and many other partners have helped this initiative take off and raise awareness.
6,938 UCF students have signed the pledge since the last count on Nov. 12.
“We are closing out our semester before exams with one final push for students to take the pledge and allow students to come get their photos we took at the first event. We’re trying to continue that message during winter break and into spring; this is an ongoing effort,” said Hawkins. “Taking the pledge isn’t just signing your name and taking the photo, it’s helping someone that may need assistance.”
If you have been a victim of sexual assault, visit notalone.gov for resources or call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE.
If you wish to get involved in this campaign, email Maureen Hawkins at Maureen.Hawkins@ucf.edu or contact UCF Cares. Mentor’s In Violence Prevention training is also available for those interested.
For more information on It’s On Us, visit their official website and take the pledge to be more than a bystander and help end sexual assault.
It’s On Us, the Knight community, to take the role of active bystanders. If you haven’t already, sign the pledge and educate yourself to make a difference.
