Trump’s Comments Hurt Efforts To Combat Sexual Assault, Advocates Say

Fatima Goss Graves, a senior vice president of the National Women’s Law Center, nonetheless believes that advocates should take advantage of the attention Trump’s remarks are receiving to accelerate ongoing efforts to increase awareness of sexual assault and the cultural norms that allow it to exist.

“Any time people are using this weekend to talk to their children about being a good bystander, about consent, that’s a good thing,” Goss Graves said.

“We have seen over the last few years that student activists have worked really hard to make these issues visible, to change policies, culture and move their institutions to a place where they are ready to implement bystander campaigns,” she added. “It is really hard work, so to have this conversation is a good thing.”