Every 98 seconds a person in the United States is sexually assaulted. In this time you have blinked about 20 times, taken about 20 breathes of air, and your heart has beaten about 100 times.

Out of these thousands of sexual assault cases, only 310 will be reported to authorities out of a 1,000, meaning 2 out of 3 cases go unreported.

But why are victims of these unacceptable acts not choosing to report? Some fear retaliation or not wanting to get the perpetrator in trouble, some even believe it wasn’t important enough to report, but one of the huge problems is that people don't believe the police will do anything to help.

Out of every a thousand rapes, only 6 rapists will be incarcerated, meaning 994 perpetrators will walk free.
Daughters are taught to say no, but what happens when someone doesn’t understand that NO means NO. We need to be educating people from a young age the basic understandings of consent. In a study, only 67% of men understood that sexual intercourse when a partner is pressured into giving their consent is a form of assault, and only 48% knew that unwanted verbal remarks that are provocative and not asked for, is assault. Teaching humans this can help prevent future abusive behaviors from developing.

Authorities can’t ask victims questions that make them feel bad about themselves or feel it was their fault. What were you wearing? What were you doing? They shouldn’t be asked these questions targeting the victim but at the moment. What happened at that moment to this person?

There are different circumstances and situations that happen to a person that is assault but not recognized legally.

Our legal system needs to understand the circumstances of a victims situation and understand the greater definition of assault.

Victims of sexual assault also have to pay medical bills of $1,000 for being assaulted. One woman said she had to stop seeking treatment because it cost too much money. How do we allow these people to go through even more hardships after the one(s) they’ve been put through.

We have been failing these humans that have been victims of sexual assault, and it’s time to step up and make sure that no one should be afraid to come forward about their experiences.

We need to target rape culture from the source, and rather than belittling victims we shall achieve support medically and legally for them.

Yes, indeed... time is up.