Lady Gaga is best known for her wild eye catching outfits and hit pop songs, but this year she is making a statement even louder than her appearance. Lady Gaga has teamed up with current New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to combat sexual assault occurring in New York’s college campuses. The numbers from the U.S. Department of Education state that an estimated 5,000 accounts of sexual assault occurred on campuses in 2012 .
To bring awareness to the issue, the “Enough is Enough” campaign was launched to ensure that campuses were held to higher standards of accountability when an assault has occurred. In New York fewer than five percent of the rapes and assaults that occur are actually reported. As you can imagine there are even fewer that are being prosecuted. Many victims do not receive proper counseling and often deal with the assaults in silence.
A letter written by Gaga describes how this bill will change disturbing pattern amongst campuses today. “By passing legislation, we can turn the tide on this issue so that students can realize their dreams on campuses that are safe spaces. That’s why we are joining together to take a stand against sexual assault on college campuses. Quite simply enough is enough.”
This is an issue that hits home for Gaga as she was a victim of sexual assault herself at the age of 19. The campaign is a new beginning for victims and a step in the right direction to lowering the alarming statistics of rapes on New York Universities. You can find the entire letter on billboard.com.
