Hello everyone! Today is International Women’s Day. Today and everyday is a good day for women to empower themselves. Women have come such a long way and… it can only get better! At first, I wanted to play an upbeat song but I decided on this one. If you saw the Academy Awards a couple of weeks ago, you’ll probably remember it. I prefer the remix more than the original. The original video is graphic and disturbing. When I saw it for the first time this morning, it brought me to tears. The video and song have a wonderful message: IT’S NEVER OK and it’s NEVER the victim’s fault. Lady Gaga first spoke about being raped at 19 back in 2014. You can read the story here.

Lady Gaga co-wrote the song for the documentary film, The Hunting Ground. The film discusses college campus rape and assault at various American universities. It premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. The documentary focuses around two female rape victims, Andrea Pino and Annie E. Clark. They were students at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill who filed a Title IX complaint. According to the U.S. Department of Education, Title IX protects people from discrimination based on sex in education programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance. It states the following: No person in the United States, shall on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.

The girls also co-founded the group, End Rape on Campus. The Hunting Ground also includes interviews with male victims, college administrators, parents and students. Til It Happens To You won the award for best song in a documentary at the 2015 Hollywood Music in Media Awards. The song was also nominated for a Grammy and Academy Award. I’m glad this issue is being brought to the public’s attention more than ever before. Sexual abuse and assault happens more often than we know. The sad part is the victim usually thinks they know and trust the person who hurts him/her. For several reasons, this subject unfortunately hits very close to home for me and some loved ones.