It's On Us

"It's On Us" (to stop sexual assault) is a social movement created by Barack Obama and White House Council on Women and Girls to raise awareness and fight against sexual assault on college campuses for both men and women. This campaign urges the public to stand up against sexual assault and step away from the sidelines to be an active part of the solution.[1]

It's On Us Logo

According to the statistics provided by It's On Us, 1 in 20 college males are sexually assaulted and 1 in 5 college females are sexually assaulted.[2]

Background

Started on September 19, 2014, the It's On Us campaign was put into motion with the intent of ending sexual assault on college campuses.[3] On this release date, they also published a YouTube video with many famous celebrities taking a stand against sexual assault. Each year, It's On Us selects student leaders across the country to serve as part of the It's On Us National Student Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is in its third year.

The Campus Crime Statistics Act[4] was passed in 1990[5] forcing public campuses to share information regarding crime and their efforts to improve the safety within and around campus.[4] Its On Us brings awareness to the information and numbers shared in these reports.

Social
Joe Biden and Lady Gaga at an It's On Us event at the University of Las Vegas in 2016.

It's On Us has utilized multiple social media platforms to increase awareness for sexual assault including Facebook,[6] Twitter,[7] Instagram,[8] YouTube, etc. The hashtag #itsonus[9] is used to create awareness about the campaign to stop sexual assault.

In the year end summary report for 2015, It's On Us stated that, "students have launched... campaigns at over 300 schools and hosted more than 650 events". They also stated that, "since the launch... almost 220,000 people have taken the pledge." They also have gained 90 partners over the duration.[10]

In 2015, It's On Us released a public service announcement titled "The One Thing". The announcement focused on consent when engaging in sexual acts. They also stated that this PSA would be released to more than 20,000 media outlets nationwide.[10]

On February 28, 2016, Lady Gaga took sexual abuse survivors on stage during her Oscar performance for It's On Us. It's On Us reported 37,401 new pledges and the hashtag #itsonus reached 348.67 million impressions.[11]

On March 31, 2017, the American indie-pop trio AJR released a charity single of the same name in support of the campaign, and all the proceeds from the song were donated to It's On Us. The band released an encouraging statement regarding the campaign, saying: "When we heard about the amazing work It’s On Us is doing to create an environment to support survivors and change the way [to] think about and talk about sexual assault, we knew we wanted to be part of this conversation the best way we knew how – by writing a song."[12]

Youtube

One of their most popular forms of social reach is through YouTube videos. The campaigns has created numerous videos with celebrities advocating against sexual assault.[13]

Joe Biden and Adam Devine also took part in a Funny or Die video, in which they crash a college party and show how to prevent potential sexual assault.[14]

Goals

The goals of this organization are:

1. To RECOGNIZE that non-consensual sex is sexual assault.

2. To IDENTIFY situations in which sexual assault may occur.

3. To INTERVENE in situations where consent has not or cannot be given.

4. To CREATE an environment in which sexual assault is unacceptable and survivors are supported."

5. The organization is geared towards creating a social movement by asking people to take a "PLEDGE" against sexual assault." [15]

Supporters

Supporters of this organization include: Kerry Washington,[16] Zoe Saldana, Nina Dobrev, Matt McGorry,[17] John Cho, Jon Hamm, Connie Britton, and others.[18] They have an extensive list of collegiate supporters, such as universities, fraternities and sororities.[19]

Impact

For It's On Us week 2016, according to a Twitter poll of Ole Miss Students, "43 percent of Ole Miss students are well aware of the university-provided resources available to victims of sexual assault, compared to the 25 percent who say they are not".[20]

References
  1. Papisova, Vera. "Joe Biden Says Men Who Don't Stop Sexual Assault Are 'Cowards'". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2017-04-18.
  2. Kennedy, Kristin. "Students want to stop on-campus sexual assault with 'It's On Us".
  3. "President Obama Launches the "It's On Us" Campaign to End Sexual Assault on Campus". whitehouse.gov. 2014-09-19. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  4. "Summary of the Jeanne Clery Act | Clery Center For Security On Campus". clerycenter.org. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  5. "Look Out! Sexual Assault on Campus". Iris. Charlottesville (50): 10. Spring 2005. ProQuest 214670350.
  6. "It's On Us Facebook Page". facebook.com. Retrieved 2016-11-20.
  7. "It's On Us (@ItsOnUs) - Twitter".
  8. "#ItsOnUs (@itsonus) • Instagram photos and videos".
  9. "#itsonus • Instagram photos and videos".
  10. "FACT SHEET: The "It's On Us" Campaign Launches new PSA, Marks One-Year Since Launch of "It's On Us" Campaign to End Campus Sexual Assault". whitehouse.gov. 2015-09-01. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  11. "'It's on Us' Campaign Gets Almost 10 Times More Pledges After Lady Gaga's Oscar Performance". Billboard. Retrieved 2016-11-28.
  12. "AJR - It's On US Lyrics". Genius.com. Retrieved 2019-05-20.
  13. It's On Us (18 September 2014). "It's On Us: Sexual Assault PSA" – via YouTube.
  14. "You Have To Watch Joe Biden Crash This College Party". Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  15. "Its On Us". Its On Us. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  16. Gray, Eliza (September 19, 2014). "Kerry Washington and Jon Hamm Star in Sexual Assault Prevention PSA". Time. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  17. Kingkade, Tyler (September 16, 2016). ""It's On Us" Rape Prevention Campaign To Continue Post-Obama". Buzzfeed. Retrieved April 17, 2017.
  18. "Nina Dobrev, Matt McGorry, Zoe Saldana and more advocate for sexual consent in 'It's On Us' campaign". Entertainment Weekly's EW.com. Retrieved 2016-10-27.
  19. "Its On Us". Its On Us. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
  20. "It's On Us week ends after awareness programs". The Daily Mississippian. 2016-11-04. Retrieved 2016-11-25.
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