Now that he's no longer the Vice President of the United States (and especially during Sexual Assault Awareness Month), Joe Biden has been devoting his time to he and former-POTUS Barack Obama's campaign, It's On Us.
On Wednesday, Biden stopped by George Mason University in Virginia to speak about sexual assault awareness, the Huffington Post reports. He was also joined by 13 Reasons Why actress Alisha Boe, whose character Jessica in the Netflix series is raped while unconscious after having too much to drink. Before Biden took the stage, Boe spoke about how playing her character has allowed her to understand what real-life survivors go through.
"We want the survivors in the room today to know that your voice matters, your story is important and your truth is real,” Boe said. “You are never, ever, ever alone.”
When it was Biden's turn to address the students, he had some powerful words for college men especially - and his point-blank attitude earned him plenty of applause from the crowd. (And also from me while watching the video of his speech if we're being honest.)
“Guys, a woman who’s dead drunk cannot consent. You are raping her." Joe Biden doesn't mince words in a powerful speech to college students pic.twitter.com/iO1AWDIFcM
— CNN (@CNN) April 27, 2017
"Change the culture. You can do it," he said. "Guys: a woman who’s dead drunk cannot consent. You are raping her. You are raping her if she cannot say 'It’s okay.'"
THIS. This is exactly how we need to be talking about rape and sexual assault, especially on college campuses where alcohol is more often than not a factor that we need to acknowledge. When over 20% of female undergraduates report experiencing sexual assault on campus, something needs to change - and it requires the commitment of both genders.