'It's On Us' Campaign: Obama Administration Launches Initiative to Combat College Campus Sexual Assaults
On Friday, the Obama Administration launched a new campaign to combat sexual assaults on college campuses.
The campaign, which is titled "It's on Us," urges students to take personal responsibility to prevent sexual assault at colleges and universities.
The initiative was developed after the White House ordered a task force in April aimed at fighting the growing number of sexual assaults that occur on campuses across the country. The White House also released a 20-page report of guidelines which pressures universities to do more as well.
"Since the very beginning of the administration, the President and Vice President have made it a top priority to end sexual assault. Today one in five women is sexually assaulted while in college," a senior Obama official said, according to CNN.
"Most often it happens to her during (the victim's) freshmen or sophomore year by someone she knows. And also most often she doesn't report what happened."
In addition to partnering with universities, associations and multiple companies, the administration also uses celebrity star power to help spread awareness and educate college students about the issue.
In the first of a series of public service announcements, Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love, Jon Hamm, Kerry Washington and Connie Britton encourage people to help prevent rape among college students. Vice President Joe Biden also appears in the video before President Barack Obama closes it out telling viewers "to take the pledge" at ItsOnUs.org
According to officials, the new effort focuses on getting men involved in preventing sexual assaults.
"While we're going to seek to raise awareness with everyone and encourage everyone to get involved, there's also going to be a special focus on reaching and engaging men," a senior administration official told CNN. That is "based on the social norms research that tells us that young men often overestimate other mens' acceptance of violence."
The PSA will be shown at big college sporting events and popular cable networks like MTV and VH1, reports The New York Times.
Watch the PSA below.
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