Content Warning: Description of Sexual Assault
In my AP Bio class, Ms. Espinosa says it’s important to err on the side of caution when talking about certain subjects because we don’t know what our words might mean to other people and their experiences. Students should follow this advice, but it is even more imperative for teachers to do so as well. Teachers are powerful agents in such discussions due to their authority over students; they have the capacity to change the attitude of the discussion for better or worse. When a teacher starts promoting harmful attitudes surrounding a topic, this can influence students to think the same way at other people’s expense. It creates a hostile environment for students who have been directly affected by the subject of the discussion. Such can be the case when it comes to talking about sexual assault allegations towards Brett Kavanaugh.
The hearings have surely had classrooms all over America examining the issue of sexual assault. Many people don’t know how to successfully have these conversations because they have internalized damaging notions about sexual assault, which are often due to cultural values. Today’s political climate has exposed long-hidden societal prejudices to the world, prompting the arrival of hashtags such as #MeToo and #WhyIDidntReport. So today I’d like to focus on one of these prejudiced notions: the idea that sexual assault is excusable if the perpetrator is in high school or college.
The promotion of this mentality in the HGM was brought to my attention by one of my friends, whom we will call Jane Doe. Her name has been changed for privacy. “On October 4th, I was completing my homework at the end of class and a student wanted to discuss with the teacher if he thought Kavanaugh had really committed sexual assault. I didn't think much of it at the time, as I was focused on getting my homework done. The student thought that Kavanaugh didn't commit sexual assault due to the convenience of the time the claims were made and due to the absence of evidence. To my surprise, I heard my teacher say that it didn’t matter. It was something along the lines of, ‘Oh no, I’m saying he did it. But he was in college, of course; he’s gonna do stupid stuff.’ The male students who had gathered all around him just took it as a funny remark. I, on the other hand, was appalled,” Jane tells me.
There are several flaws in the teacher’s argument. First, let’s examine why high schoolers and college students often act recklessly: executive function, the part of the brain that controls decision making and judgment, doesn’t fully develop until the age of twenty-five. Some people have weaker executive functions due to a disorder, like ADHD. Because of my ADHD, I don’t always weigh the consequences of my actions and have made many bad decisions throughout my life. But I have always been held accountable for decisions that hurt others, and rightfully so. If I committed sexual assault, should I receive a lighter punishment because of my ADHD? I do advocate for a better understanding of neurodivergent people, as well as certain accommodations for them in the workplace, school, and society in general. A lighter punishment for sexual assault should not be one of them. Impaired or underdeveloped executive function does not prevent someone from knowing what hurts others. And high schoolers are definitely mature enough to figure that out.
Furthermore, this mentality carries dangerous implications for sexual assault victims. Jane asserts, “As a high school student heading to college within 2-3 years, hearing this argument is kind of scary. By this logic, anyone can rape me and not get any punishment because they are young and naive. But regardless of age, shouldn’t I still have agency over my own body? What confused me more was that some people have no idea about the problems that so many women face. All the male students around him seemed to have no problem with his statement and I couldn’t believe it. I didn't understand why they were all so okay with someone telling them the attempted rape of a woman was justified due to the perpetrator’s age.
“As a student who has faced serious sexual assault during high school, I would never want to come out with my story due to people like this. People who would excuse my harasser’s actions using his age. Should age really take away from the fact that at that moment I was too terrified to move or make a sound? Should it really take away from the fact that his hands were all over my body slowly inching towards my crotch in an effort to turn me on when all it was doing was making me think of all the ways he could kill me after he did whatever he wanted to do to me? Should it really take away from the fact that I was too afraid to tell him to stop a third time because it might have angered him enough for him to seriously hurt me? I don’t think so. Hearing a male teacher take away importance from sexual assault with his words due to the time that it happened, the influence of alcohol, and the age of the perpetrator is not okay, especially when it’s an HGM teacher. I am not the only female who felt disgusted hearing his words and when I told a male friend of mine what happened in class today, he was also disgusted.” When such words trivialize or dismiss the victim’s suffering, they take away the victim’s voice in the matter as well.
So what can this incident teach people? It is important to center on victims when talking about sexual assault. Their trauma is valid; sexual assault can leave a permanent mark on the victim’s life. To all teachers, there may very well be a sexual assault victim in your classroom. And even if there isn’t, that’s no reason not to treat the topic of sexual assault insensitively. When you treat it as such, you encourage your students to spread toxic notions to other people outside the classroom, preserving a culture that prioritizes rapists over sexual assault victims. Among other factors, this is why sexual assault is so prevalent in society, yet so many victims, like Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, wait to report their cases--if they even report at all. We must all work together to change the culture that allows sexual assault to go on. Creating a safe space in the classroom for victims of sexual assault is a good start.