Tuesday, March 1, 2016
2016 Oscars: Shedding the Light on the Epidemic of Sexual Assault
*Trigger Warning*
Thirty-four million people watched live as Lady Gaga and 50
survivors took the 2016 Oscars stage on Sunday to call attention to the rampant
rates of sexual assault on college campuses.
Gaga’s song “‘Til It Happens to You,” co-written by Diane Warren, appeared
in The Hunting Ground, Kirby Dick and
Amy Ziering’s 2015 documentary
exposing the institutional cover-ups of campus rape and the brave students
using Title IX to fight back. While
“‘Til It Happens to You” did not win Best Original Song, it left a larger
impact than winning any award could have.
Vice President Biden opened the performance by urging the
audience to “take the pledge” to intervene
and “change the culture” of blaming survivors for their assault. Lady Gaga then
appeared in all white at a white piano in the center of the dark stage. Starting slowly and building in intensity,
Gaga’s performance was both gut-wrenching and empowering. She sang passionately, tearing up at times,
almost jerking in anger at others. Joined
by an orchestra for the chorus, Gaga stood as survivors began to flood the
stage. They held out their arms to show
phrases written in black: “survivor,” “unbreakable,” “not your fault,” and “it
happened to me.” The emotion was
palpable. The performance ended with the
survivors joining hands and, along with Gaga, raising them above their heads in
a show of strength and solidarity.
1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men will be sexually assault while
in college. 68% of all assault go
unreported and 98% of rapists never see a jail cell. With statistics like these, we hope the
national attention brought about by The
Hunting Ground and Gaga’s Oscar performance spurs collective action. The overwhelmingly positive reactions to both
the film and the song are certainly heartening.
Lady Gaga recently released a powerful music video of “‘Til
It Happens to You,” which you can watch here.
--Kathleen Melendy, MWPC Intern
