In today’s society teenagers are more commonly taught how to prevent rape and sexual assault, rather than being taught not to inflict these dehumanizing acts onto other people. These prevention tactics are ultimately failing and unfortunately the statistics regarding women and rape have remained stagnant, at a terrifying 1 out of 5 chance of being a victim of attempted or completed rape in their lifetime. Surviving victims of these assaults are forced to live with the pain and humiliation every day, and many are even blamed for being assaulted in the first place. Unfortunately not all victims live to tell the tale, and many decide to end their own life rather than live with the pain caused by their attacker.

Recently the Wilcox community held an all school assembly where some light was shed on the seriousness of these situations. The assembly was hosted by The Audrie Pott Foundation, an organization dedicated to educating the teenage demographic about how real and current these situations have become. The foundation is run by Sheila and Larry Pott, the heartbroken parents of the late Audrie Pott. Audrie committed suicide eight days after being assaulted at a party in September 2012.

Sheila Pott, Audrie’s mother, feels strongly about society’s current predicament regarding sexual assault. In a recent interview for the documentary Audrie and Daisy, she stated, “The message that was sent was: ‘Girls, don’t come forward, because we’re not going to take this seriously.’ And the message to the boys was: ‘Oh, well, you’ll get a slap on the hand.’ ” This exemplifies the attitude that many boys have, simply because this is how they were raised. In many cases people aren’t taught not to take advantage of people, at least not seriously. Instead, it is more commonly found that society is being taught how to prevent rape, by not drinking alcohol and not dressing provocatively. The lack of discussion and education on this subject will continue this disastrous mindset, which makes documentaries like Audrie and Daisy so important. When society ignores these situations and blames the victim, it will be impossible for the attacker to ever feel accountability and remorse for their actions, because they won’t even believe it’s wrong in the first place.

Daisy Coleman is a girl who, like Audrie, was sexually assaulted but, unlike Audrie, survived her attempted suicide. Daisy was blamed for her own rape, her attacker claiming it was consensual and certain police officers making her out to be an attention seeker. Like the Pott family she strives to raise awareness and stop tragedies like hers from happening in the future. Coleman asserts that young boys should “start learning from an early age what you should do in a situation like that […] where a female is incapacitated. You know, it’s all about the mindset that you create as you’re growing up.” Clearly, a lack of education in a society with a justice system that more times than not favors the assaulter over the victim, has made the way we view rape cases and sexual assault lean more towards prevention and less towards eliminating a culture where people think non-consensual intercourse is okay.  For example, journalist Sofia Resnick states, “Unlike criminal trials, which require the prosecution to prove the defendant’s guilt ‘beyond a reasonable doubt,’ civil trials have a much lower bar, requiring only that a plaintiff persuade a judge or jury that it is more likely than not that the events occurred.”

The Pott family now visits schools as a part of the Audrie Pott Foundation to raise awareness and to drive social change. The foundation hopes to create a better society that eliminates rape culture and creates more upstanders out of bystanders. As Sheila Pott puts it, “Audrie needed a hero that night, and no one stood up. And so, when we speak to high school students through the foundation, I ask these young people, you know, to be the hero.”