Brenda Tracy, Rape Survivor, Shared Her Story With Texas A&M Athletes and Staff

What Else is Being Done?

Her speaking engagements are only a part of what this Oregonian does to affect change. She is also very active in promoting legislative action.

“Legislation is something that I really feel strongly about so I am very much involved in that too,” Tracy explained. “I helped change five laws in Oregon. Basically all of the things that happened in my story that were not okay, I close those loopholes down so the Brenda Tracy story can’t happen in that way to another survivor again.”

"“We have to handle issues on campus, We’re talking about perpetrators and victims who live on the same campus and the campus does need to step in.”"

Rape on campus is a difficult subject even in the most transparent of situations. The current processes in place via Title IX is far from perfect. But Tracy is adamant that the response needs to be improvement, not the removal of the discussion. Schools must directly address sexual and domestic violence involving their students.

How Should Schools Address Rape and Domestic Abuse?

“We have to handle issues on campus,” Tracy said. “We’re talking about perpetrators and victims who live on the same campus and the campus does need to step in.”

The fact that the current system has been in place for only a handful of years contributes to the challenge. That said, there are still a number of ways to make things better.

“This is not like we have been working on this for 20 years, so its not going to be perfect right away, but there is obviously a need for it,” she said. “We have to have money allocated and allotted for these things, and we have to keep educating our Title IX people and figuring out what the best practices are for dealing with this. We just have to figure out how to fine tune it and make it work for everybody.”

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In the end, rape on campus is an issue that is complicated and difficult, but is also too important to not work on. “It’s a polarized issue, men against women. ‘All men rape and all women lie’,” she said. “That’s not true. Men and women have to ally themselves in the fight. We have to start working together.”

For more information on Brenda and her cause, you can visit her website at www.brendatracy.com/