There has recently been increased attention on issues surrounding sexual harrassment and abuse, particularly following the disappearance and death of Sarah Everard (BBC News, 2021). In response to the disappearance, police reportedly advised who lived near Clapham, where she was last seen, to avoid going out alone. Many people took to social media to talk about their experiences of having to change their behaviour, from the clothes they wear to the routes they walk, to avoid incidents such as Sarah Everard's and are calling for reform to tackle the pervasive culture that normalises and trivialises incidents of sexual violence, known as rape culture. Rape culture is defined as ‘a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalising or trivialising sexual assault and abuse’ (Oxford English Dictionary, 2020) and includes behaviours such as victim blaming, trivialisation of rape and assault and a refusal to acknowledge the harm caused by sexual violence (Bold Voices, no date).
The Crime Survey for England and Wales (Office for National Statistics, 2021) highlighted a key issue within the discussion of these issues, as they estimated that in the year March 2019–2020, only 16% of female victims and 19% of male victims of sexual assault reported it to the police. The Everyone's Invited movement began in June 2020, and encourages people to anonymously share their testimonies of sexual violence. Their aim is to draw attention to how frequently these incidents occur; as of 30 March 2021, there are over 10 000 testimonies on the website (Everyone's Invited, 2020). The movement also aims to eradicate rape culture (Everyone's Invited, 2020).
They have also begun a campaign aimed at raising awareness of these issues in schools and reforming sex education (Everyone's Invited, 2021). The website provides a template for a letter or email to be sent to schools from students or ex-students, calling for reforms to sex education to include lessons on consent and rape culture, in a way that encourages students to actively engage in the lessons. The campaign also calls for schools to develop a zero tolerance policy towards behaviours that foster rape culture and to introduce disciplinary measures for perpetrators of misogyny, sexism, harrassment, abuse and assault.
As someone who did not receive education on these topics while at school, I believe this type of reform is deeply important and while it might be difficult to have these discussions, it is vital that we do so to improve the culture surrounding these issues.