Texas High School Sexual Assault Assembly Teaches That It’s The Girl’s Fault


An International Women’s Day program at Humboldt High in Texas blames girls for rape. According to KHOU,  the assembly for ninth and tenth grade girls ended abruptly half way through. During the assembly, a counselor from a local domestic violence agency went off on a group of girls who were talking while she was speaking.  

A Sexual Assault Presenter Blames Girls

Sophomore Chantranise Lane  says the speaker– a counselor from a local domestic violence agency– went off on a group of girls who were talking while she was lending advice. Lane says the speaker told the group that when they come in for a rape kit she won’t  feel bad for them. She added that she would remind them that she’d said exactly what would happen to them. This caused some of the girls in the room (who happened to be survivors of sexual assault) to break down in tears.

Students Spoke Out Against Slut-Shaming

Another sophomore, Zaria Rogan, says the speaker talked about clothing, and how what girls wear to school and in social media pictures and videos make an impression. Rogan says that it felt like an “accusation.” She doesn’t believe that students should be blamed for being assaulted because of attire. She says instead to teach boys not to “do that.”

No Assembly For Teen Boys: They Need Ground Rules

Student Emily Nelson agrees with her peers. She said,

“If somebody comes at me and I tell them ‘No, you stop what you’re doing,’ that is a no. So if boys are not being taught this and they’re being taught that if we portray ourselves like this then they can do what they want to us, then that’s never going to change.”

The second session for upperclassmen scheduled that afternoon was also canceled.

The district issued the following statement:

“The intent of the assembly was to keep students safe by educating girls on texting/sexting, teen dating violence, sexual assault awareness, and healthy relationships.”

Group organizers report they have been using the same presentation for years without complaint. That doesn’t make the presenter correct in her actions. There was a better way to handle the disruptive talking.

It’s 2016, and  many teens are aware of the double standards that they face around sexuality. Psychologists did a study about teens’ attitudes toward sex and sexual force. Their results are striking.

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Feature Image is by Charlotte Cooper available under a Creative Commons 2.0 license.

C. Imani Williams is a human rights and social justice activist. She writes to empower and give voice to those silenced through systematic oppression. Her work has appeared in Between the Lines, Michigan Citizen, Tucson Weekly, Harlem Times, Dope Magazine and various news and popular culture blogs. Follow the unapologetically black political culture critique @ https://twitter.com/Imaniwms and https://www.facebook.com/You-Have-The-Right-540358412796352/?fref=ts