Trigger warning: This content contains language that may trigger sexual assault survivors.

Sexual assault is complex.

It’s complex in how it affects victims. It’s complex in how or if it is reported. It’s complex in how it is prosecuted. It’s complex in how the average person understands what actually constitutes it. It’s complex in how pop culture treats it like it’s a regular and perfectly acceptable phenomenon. It’s complex because we seem to live in a culture that wants to blame victims for what happened to them.

The bottom line is this: Sexual assault is never OK. It is always the fault of the perpetrator, and it’s something we must all try to prevent.

Because it is such a complex issue, you might not realize how prevalent it is in our community; you might not know what we can do to prevent it; or you might not even know what it is you are trying to prevent. But the good thing is that ignorance is conquerable through education, discussions and then action.

As a news organization, the Iowa State Daily takes its role in educating and facilitating discussions seriously, but we can’t do it without those willing to be educated and participate in discussions. If you aren’t yet convinced about why this issue should matter to you, keep reading.

Sexual assault happens everywhere to various types of people, but in especially high rates on college campuses. The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that 1 in 5 women and 1 in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. Further, more than 90 percent of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report rape.

The bottom line is this: Sexual assault is never OK. It is always the fault of the perpetrator, and it’s something we must all try to prevent.

For those reading this who are not survivors, that means that as you walk around Central Campus or study in Parks Library, you are likely in the presence of a sexual assault survivor or survivors — some who have reported it, some who may have only told those close to them, and some who might not have told a soul. It also means that on campus, you are walking past perpetrators — some who were a stranger to their victim, some who were an acquaintance of their victim and some who were a significant other of their victim — and a majority of them will get away with what they did.

But don’t care about this issue because you might know a survivor and not even know it. Rather, care because no human being should ever have to be violated by a perpetrator wanting something the victim did not willingly want to give. Care because no survivor should have to deal with lifelong trauma, future struggles with healthy relationships and a slew of other mental or physical health problems all because their perpetrator wanted something they did not willingly want to give.

The bottom line is this: Sexual assault is never OK. It is always the fault of the perpetrator, and it’s something we must all try to prevent.

Today, the Daily kicks off a semester-long series in our news coverage regarding these complexities. We will talk to victims, law enforcement, victims’ advocacy groups, those in the justice system and many more sources with a pulse on this issue. But the facts and messages they share with us are only part of the solution. The other part, and the possibly more important part, is that we need you to follow along, consider ways we are all affected by this issue and take the steps needed to help prevent sexual assault; because though it is a complex problem, it is something we must put a stop to.