Last week The White House released, �Not Alone�, the first report of a task force on protecting students from sexual assault. To accompany the report, they also produced a public service announcement featuring several well-known celebrity men: Dule Hill, Benicio Del Toro, Seth Meyers, Daniel Craig, and Steve Carell. Vice President Biden and President Obama appear in the PSA as well.
There were a lot of good things about the video. In 60 seconds, it answered these key questions:
- What is the problem? Sexual assault.
- Where is it happening? Everywhere- on college campuses, at bars, at parties, even in high schools.
- Who are the victims/survivors? Our sisters, our daughters, our wives, our friends.
- Where can I find more information? http://www.whitehouse.gov/1is2many
- How can I help? Intervene.
The PSA encouraged viewers to intervene if they find themselves as a bystander. This is important because bystander interventions are promising, evidence-based strategies for preventing sexual assault.
The celebrities outline several key actions that bystanders can take to help the victims/survivors and combat stigma of sexual assault:
- VP Biden: �If I saw it happening, I was taught you have to do something about it�.
- Benicio Del Toro: �If I saw it happening, I speak up�.
- Daniel Craig: �If I saw it happening, I�d never blame her, I�d help her�.
While I liked the PSA for all the reasons above�there were also a few things I found interesting and would have loved to be a fly on the wall during the video development:
- Celebrity selection: They did a nice job recruiting some diversity in terms of the men�s racial/ethnic backgrounds and their fans/audiences. Meyers and Carell are primarily comedians, Del Toro and Craig have starred in more drama/action movies, and Hill has done both (I�m a huge fan of his from both �West Wing� and �Psych�). The PSA did not list their names to identify them, so I did wonder- �Would every viewer recognize all these actors?- How does that affect the video�s impact?� I also wondered about Del Toro and Craig�s inclusion because they have starred in some incredibly violent movies (e.g., �Traffic� and the James Bond series, respectively). Of course this doesn�t mean they are violent in real life, but how do these movies contribute to violence being accepted in our society?
- The audience: While we can assume that the intended PSA audience is men (based on language in the �Not Alone� report, their recruiting of all male speakers and their description of victims/survivors- �our sisters, our daughters, etc.�), they never actually say they are speaking to men. They say things like, �we have to stop it�; �we need your help�. Since the intervention strategies can be applicable to anyone regardless of gender, I wonder if they purposely did not use the word �men� to engage a broader audience?
- Male victims/survivors: Although the website and report note that men comprise a small number of victims and are no less important, they do not make an appearance in the PSA. This huge national initiative has an opportunity to be inclusive and I worry this exclusion could further stigmatize male victims.
What do you think?
- Do you think the celebrity PSA can help stop sexual assault? Why or why not?
- Do you think the video producers clearly defined and spoke to their audience? Why or why not?
- If you read the �Not Alone� report: what do you think about the initial action steps (e.g., launching a sexual assault climate survey for campuses)? Will these steps lead to effective prevention and response?
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