Penn State Scandal: A Turning Point in the Fight Against Rape

All year, the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State has dominated headlines. The report blowing the lid off how school officials tried to cover up football coach Jerry Sandusky’s on-campus assaults on boys left pretty much everyone disgusted.

But if there’s one good thing to emerge, it’s this: the media spotlight on sexual assault appears to have given all victims, male and female, in every age group the courage to speak out and seek help. The anti-sexual assault organization RAINN reported an astounding 54 percent surge in traffic to their online hotline, and calls to their phone hotline shot up (and have stayed up) too. “Because the Penn State victims received so much public sympathy, other rape survivors seem to have been encouraged to reach out,” says Katherine Hull, spokesperson for RAINN.

Another silver lining: Thanks to the report that condemned the way Penn State officials handled the scandal, college administrators nationwide took note and are making sure campus safety is a high priority, says Hull.

Get connected to the online hotline here, or call the phone hotline: 800-656-HOPE. Both are free and totally confidential.

From Cosmopolitan.com. Visit Amazon Beauty Center here