This letter was submitted by the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention and left unedited.

We, the members of the UO Alliance to End Sexual Assault (ASAP), a multidisciplinary group of students and community/UO staff, were surprised and very concerned to open the Emerald on Monday, November 3 to find the “guest viewpoint” entitled, “I Had Made A Mistake.” We at ASAP, would like to correct the rape myths that were in this opinion page and to give more SPACE to acknowledge survivor impact.

While this may have been an opportunity to take accountability for his actions and take some first steps toward making amends to the survivor and to his former campus community, the author did neither of those things. Instead, l  the focus was on the inconvenience, embarrassment and expense he and his family experienced as a result of his crime, and to perpetuate damaging myths and stereotypes related to sexual violence. sexual assault is NOT “a simple example of the classic college experience gone too far,” which minimizes  the crime by asserting that committing rape “can happen to anyone” and implies that intoxication was to blame for the decision made to sexually assault another person. The impact of the author’s actions on the survivor is never acknowledged, nor are we, as readers, told whether the survivor had any say at all in this unique “punishment” offered by the Lane County District Attorney’s office. Many survivors experience anxiety and depression, self-blame, fear, anger  and lack of trust in others after experiencing sexual assault.  Although these are very normal trauma responses, it is the survivor, not the one who hurt them, that is much more negatively impacted by the assault. It is unfortunately not unusual for a perpetrator of sexual assault to refuse to accept accountability, or to minimize their crime, perpetuate myths and stereotypes about the causes of sexual violence, and paint themselves as the victim.

Survivors of sexual assault are not at fault for the behaviors of those who have chosen to hurt them.    Societal blame can be internalized and often keep survivor/victims in a stuck place.  It is hard enough to deal with the betrayal of trust and how that effects current relationships, the fear that things can happen to us out of our control, and the shame and/or humiliation that goes with a sexually abusive experience.  Self-blame, which often leads to denial, makes that more difficult.

We, as a campus community, should work hard to ensure that falsehoods, myths and stereotypes about sexual violence are not perpetuated, rather than amplifying them by uncritically providing space for perpetrators to disseminate these views campus-wide. We must also assume the responsibility of ensuring that our sexual violence prevention and education efforts are trauma-informed, and do not cause further harm to survivors. Considering the impact of trauma is an important first step in cultural change and in becoming a compassionate and supportive campus community.

We, at ASAP, do not believe that sexual assault is an accident. The author made a choice to commit sexual assault. The vast majority of people do not choose assault others. Sexual assault is not an “oopsie.” It is a decision to take sexual control of another being without their explicit permission. Most of us can, and do, decide not to do this.

We, at ASAP, stand in solidarity with all the individuals, organizations, groups, and communities who are working diligently to end sexual violence on our campus and in our community  To the editorial staff at the Emerald, we ask that you better consider how your paper can be more trauma-informed and how you can best represent and serve your campus community. We, at ASAP, stand in support of survivors and the acknowledgement of the harm done by this crime.

UO Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention