Advocate talks to university athletes about sexual violence

Today, Tracy spends much of her life advocating for other sexual assault survivors, and as part of that effort, she is visiting college campuses to speak with students, staff and administrators.

With 13,500 students on the UW campus — 53 percent of whom are women — there were 14 cases of attempted or completed forcible sexual assault in 2015, according to crime statistics mandated by the Jeanne Clery Act.

[...] on that day, I became one person.

Since the day her story went public, Tracy said she hasn't thought about killing herself but felt happier and freer than she had since she was raped.

In addition to traveling throughout the country to talk with various groups, including a lot of college football teams, Tracy has successfully lobbied for five pieces of Oregonian legislation to help survivors of sexual assault.

During her engagements with college athletes, Tracy said she tells her story in graphic detail to humanize the act of sexual violence dealt to her by four student football players.

In a culture that is infused with conflicting messages about women and sex, Tracy said part of her message to young men is to join men who have already taken the position to oppose rape culture in their private public lives.

"When we engage in 'locker room' talk that's degrading women, acting like they're not human, don't have value and that you can do whatever you want to them because they're here for men's gratification, you are perpetuating this idea we are just bodies here for male consumption," she said.