As underclassmen took their standardized tests on Oct. 15, the senior class gathered in the auditorium for a presentation on college readiness and sexual violence.

Unfortunately, the way the topic of sexual assault and abuse was handled was a mixed bag.

Doctor and teacher Chris Jenson shared the reality of sexual violence from a medical perspective.

“People are shocked because they don’t think that this happens to anyone else,” Jenson said. “And the reality is that counselors, nurses, physicians see this every day. I see a couple abuse cases a month; I see a couple rapes a month.”

Beyond that acknowledgement, though, the issue was not treated with the respect it deserved.

“We’re going to talk about what happens when you don’t manage yourself,” counselor Kristi Dixon said during the presentation. “When you go to the party and you put down your drink, and you turn around and you talk to your friend, and then you pick your drink up, and then the next morning you wake up. Because that’s what you’re going to remember when you don’t manage, when you don’t pay attention to where you are, who you are with.”

This attitude – that it is a victim’s responsibility to control whether they are sexually assaulted – will only result in negative implications for anyone who has been or will be assaulted. If students are told they need to control their surroundings to prevent rape, they will ultimately blame themselves if they are attacked.

“It felt like it was bad to be a woman,” senior Vanessa Shields said. “Guys should [know] that it’s their responsibility not to be the type of guys who drug girls, and that it’s a bad thing. I thought that wasn’t really emphasized in the talk.”

Unfortunately, students are not receiving the kind of education they need about consent, assault, and abuse.

“It’s your decision when you feel ready [to have sex], and no one talks about that,” Shields said.

“They weren’t serious about it,” senior Maddie Snow said. “They made it sound like it was no big deal – let’s switch over to the next slide real quick so we don’t have to think about it.”

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), one in six American women will be the victim of an attempted or completed rape in her lifetime.  It is a real and pressing issue that needs to be talked about in detail, especially to the senior class leaving for college in less than a year.

“Awareness is key, instead of just ignoring it,” Shields said.

Administration needs to instruct students on the meaning of affirmative consent – a sober, enthusiastic “yes,” – and create an environment that is safe for victims, in the case that a student is assaulted.  This means not blaming victims, but supporting them.

Hopefully, Southwest is or will become a safe place for victims of assault and rape. Our school needs to be a place where victims are believed, trusted, and protected.

Resources for victims of sexual violence are available at the Southwest counseling office and www.rainn.org.