By Joseph F. Vitale and Patricia Teffenhart

The FBI recognizes sexual assault as the second most violent crime, the first of which is murder.

With that statistic in mind, it's no surprise that a recently released CDC report detailed the extraordinary impact of sexual assault victimization over a survivor's lifetime at a cost of approximately $122,000 per victim/survivor. Lost wages. Inability to maintain relationships. Struggles with addiction. Mental and physical health services. Sexual assault survivors endure a lifetime of trauma. That trauma is intensified when survivors are further subjected to the victim-blaming narrative that so frequently dominates discussions about sexual assault.

This narrative is perpetuated by personalities with a platform and audience, like Judi Franco of New Jersey 101.5FM, who argues that "boys will be boys," that men are "hard wired that way," and the women who are coming forward with allegations of assault against Harvey Weinstein are responsible for the crimes committed against them.

Franco's claims are cruel, damaging and false.

Judi says to stand up for yourselves instead of asking a lawyer or the media to do it for you! Posted by New Jersey 101.5 on Tuesday, October 10, 2017

But, perpetrators depend on these kinds of false narratives, just as they depend on their position of power to force their victims to remain silent. Reporting on Harvey Weinstein's victims and their individual statements remind us that sexual assault is about power and control - Weinstein is a prime example, holding careers and fame over women's heads, threatening loss of work and being ostracized from their industry. Franco claims that these women had the power to just up and leave - and why would they go into his hotel room anyway? A hotel room is a bedroom! Make no mistake - this is a convenient way of shifting the blame from perpetrators of this heinous crime onto the victims.

So, let us paint a different picture for you. Actor Terry Crews came forward on Twitter last week to address a very public assault that happened to him. He was at an industry party and a powerful executive came up and, out of nowhere, fondled him and then walked away. Terry didn't know what to do. This was a person who could make or break his career. Terry is a large man, imposing physically, and was in a very public place with his wife. He was still assaulted. His perpetrator called him the next day to address what happened but never really apologized or explained it.

Terry Crews and James Van Der Beek share their stories of being sexually harassed in Hollywood. pic.twitter.com/s4Kbqj9BSW — AJ+ (@ajplus) October 13, 2017

Crews has only now come forward with this story, and even still has not named the perpetrator by name. Perhaps in Franco's view, Crews should have never been at the very public party with his wife in the first place?

Perhaps his way of dressing gave the perpetrator a hint that he wanted it? Perhaps his wanting to be in the entertainment industry at all was his first step towards inviting his own assault? This is obviously not the case. Crews did nothing to invite what happened to him, just as the women alleging assault against Harvey Weinstein did not invite what happened to them.

The attention here should be on the actions of the perpetrator, not on those of the victims/survivors. Men and women alike have been assaulted in places they would never imagine could bring them harm - a family member's home, an employer's office, a summer camp, a church. Litigating in a public forum that some places are okay for women, and some places aren't because they could lead to assault, is insulting, it's backwards thinking, and it's plainly wrong. This upcoming legislative session, we will continue advocating for legislation which will expand the civil statute of limitations for victims of sexual assault, allowing them more time to bring a case against their abuser.

As high profile cases have shown us, many survivors take years to come to terms with the crimes committed against them; the power and control exerted by perpetrators, paired with the victim blaming narrative of people like Franco keep victims/survivors quiet. But what we're also learning as more of these cases come to light, is that the impact and prevalence of sexual violence is significant and New Jersey should make every effort to support survivors, hold offenders accountable, and shift the dialogue to one that is based on facts - not convenient, misogynist rhetoric.

If you are a victim/survivor of sexual violence in need of help, please call New Jersey's statewide 24-hour sexual violence hotline at 800-601-7200 or visit https://njcasa.org/findhelp

Joseph F. Vitale represents the 19th Legislative District in the New Jersey Senate, and serves as chairman of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.

Patricia Teffenhart is executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault.

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