#MeToo

Check your Facebook and you’ll probably see many posts from your friends with two simple words: me too. These words carry so much meaning because the women who posted them are brave enough to share that they are victims of sexual assault.

The movement began when actress Alyssa Milano tweeted for everyone who has been sexually assaulted or harassed to write “me too” as a status. After the sexual accusations against Harvey Weinstein, plenty of celebrities have joined this movement as well as many other people around the world.

Seeing these brave celebrities come forward with their sexual assault stories was inspiring to me. The support that my friends on social media were getting for posting “me too” as their status was amazing. Yet, through all of the love and compassion I saw on the news and social media, I was shocked to see that fashion designer Donna Karan supported Harvey Weinstein rather than the several women he assaulted.

Karan, the creator of DKNY, is an icon with plenty of influence on the fashion world, so to hear her say that women “ask for it” with their fashion statements was appalling. Although Karan has apologized for the insensitivity of her comment, there are still plenty of people who view a woman’s clothing choice as reason for her to be sexually abused. Seeing a women so prominent in the fashion industry express this view is especially frightening. When so many survivors are being courageous enough to share their stories, we need to show our support for them. Admitting it is not easy, but every person that comes forward raises even more awareness for the sexual abuse problem in our country.

I can’t help but flashback to my days at Wildcat Welcome as a freshman, attending True Northwestern Dialogues. While some people snickered at the presentation on sexual assault, it was probably one of the most important lessons to be taught in college. According to Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN), 11.2% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation. RAINN also reports that one out of every six American women has been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. Can the way a woman dresses contribute to a number that big? There is obviously a larger problem that won’t be fixed by concealing women’s bodies head to toe.

Blaming the victim doesn’t fix the larger problem at hand on college campuses or in all of society. Even people as “perfect” as celebrities have been sexually assaulted. An important way to fix the problem is to support the survivors brave enough to come forward rather than blaming them for their choice of dress. As a laptop sticker I received during Wildcat Welcome says,“how I dress does not mean yes.”