Lily Fields wore a lace bow in her blonde hair as she addressed the audience at Cal Lutheran University, in front of the county’s top officials. She’s 20 years old now, but when she was 16, she found herself the victim of a man she trusted. A man she met online.
"The assault started online via social media platform, and I was coerced into sending pictures of myself to a stranger who I had not known, but I wanted to be friends because they seemed like they were in a dark place in their life," said Fields. "Obviously, that was not true. I felt like I lost myself in that process."
She’s sharing her story to inspire and empower other survivors of sexual violence.
"The issue around speaking up is what your public image is going to be like after you share what happened to you. People view you differently, and never really would I have thought that I would be in this position, being able to speak in front of so many people," she said.
The statistics are stark. Nationally, 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college, yet more than 90% of victims do not report it. 43% of campus crime is sexual assault.
According to Ventura County District Attorney Erik Nasarenko, more awareness of the issue is important.
"It needs to be spoken about more," said Nasarenko. "There are alarming statistics that inform us about campus sexual assault. We come together today to prevent campus sexual assault, to inform students that there are resources, investigative, victim advocacy, prosecutorial, and other resources available to them so they do not become victimized."
He reassured people concerned about campus safety.
"Campuses remain extremely safe. They are safer, frankly, than a city environment. Nevertheless, there's togetherness in dormitories, in common housing facilities, and oftentimes there is alcohol involved. So what we do is inform students, we talk to faculty, we let law enforcement know there are some warning signs. You have to be aware that there can be alcohol-induced or facilitated sexual assault. There are also opportunities that all students possess to say they want to give affirmative consent. They want to make sure that they assert themselves, and whatever they do, they do so with free will, voluntarily and knowingly."
And Nasarenko says – while there is a focus on sexual in April, his department and the Ventura County Family Justice Center are dedicated to supporting victims all year round.
Editor's note: Cal Lutheran holds the license for KCLU Public Radio.
