Survivors of sexual assault and their allies will meet at this week’s Women Center Brown Bag Luncheon for the chance to hear others’ stories.
One out of five women in college are raped, despite only one in 10 cases or fewer being reported to authorities, according to New York University’s Health Center.
“I was 10 when I was raped and then I was 19 when I was raped again,” said Brittani Ferguson, coeditor of the book, The Economics of Romance. “The way (people) perceive what happened to me has become more of the definition than what I’m actually dealing with, and what survivors are actually dealing with.”
Ferguson edited the book along with Monisha Mukhija, graduate assistant for the Women’s Center.
“I actually think it was a salvation, kind of, finally writing about it,” Ferguson said. “I wanted to give other people an opportunity to just talk about judgment or silencing or shaming.”
The Economics of Romance contains 10 analytical pieces and 12 creative pieces on sexuality that have been contributed by survivors, allowing for some to start the healing process after abuse.
Audrey Imes, president of VOX: Voices for Planned Parenthood, said the main issue surrounding rape and sexual assault is victim blaming.
“I think the fact that (rape) doesn’t get reported says a lot about the sexism that exists here,” said Imes.
Mukhija said sexual assault on college campuses is not uncommon because of the environment and culture.
“We noticed it on our college campus,” said Mukhija, who went to Denison University. “Many people don’t even know that they’ve been sexually assaulted because there’s this huge blur between the drinking culture and the hook up culture. A lot of them don’t accept it.”
Ferguson and Mukhija wanted to be able to give survivors a voice, which is why they said they chose to have others contribute their own stories to their book. The pair also has a Tumblr.com account called “Liberating Ourselves,” where people can submit their stories anonymously.
“Being a survivor, owning that, it’s not a crime. There’s nothing wrong with you,” Ferguson said. “There’s no shame there. You don’t have to live your life based on something that someone else did to you, they don’t get to have that.”
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Brown Bag Luncheon: Economics of Romance
WHEN: 12 p.m. Thursday
WHERE: The Women’s Center, 403 Baker University Center
ADMISSION: Free
je726810@ohiou.edu
