New White House Initiative to Prevent Sexual Assault on College Campuses

The White House has announced a new initiative in its continuing campaign to combat sexual violence on college campuses. President Obama has announced the “It’s On Us” initiative which seeks to engage college students and the entire campus community in efforts to prevent sexual assault.

According to a White House statement, the new campaign “aims to fundamentally shift the way we think about sexual assault, by inspiring everyone to see it as their responsibility to do something, big or small, to prevent it.” It’s On Us will support student-led efforts already underway across the country, and will focus particularly on motivating college men to get involved.

According to the White House, “most men are not comfortable with violence against women, but often don’t speak out because they believe that other men accept this behavior. By getting men involved, we can change this way of thinking and create new social norms.”

The campaign will include public service announcement in traditional media outlets and social media channels. Among the partner groups who will participate in the effort are the National Collegiate Athletic Association, the American Association of University Women, and the video game firm Electronic Arts.