College students across the U.S. staged socially distanced protests this week against sexual assault on campuses, such as Boston University and Minnesota State University, CBS News reported.
The protests – organized by University Survivors Movement (USM), an international organization of student activists against sexual assault on campuses – were meant to be COVID-safe through flyers and messages instead of in-person gatherings and had the participation of activists from at least 17 schools.
“BU has a rape problem,” read signs at the Boston University campus.
“After I was raped, I was so afraid to simply walk around campus,” was written in chalk on a Gettysburg College campus pathway.
More than 25% of undergraduate female students and 1 in 15 undergraduate male students experience sexual assault or rape through physical force, incapacitation or violence while in college, according to advocacy group RAINN.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown to be another complication keeping survivors from finding help and justice, USM organizer and Brown University student Carter Woodruff said.
