Lauren Atkins bravely shared her story with the world in 2017. A story every parent hopes their child won’t have to face, but for many that’s all too familiar; Lauren was raped by a boy she knew from school. She was shocked to find out he had no idea what legal consent was.

In the fall of 2014, we organized the group Yes All Daughters and led a protest after multiple teenage girls in our hometown of Norman, OK were raped and bullied out of the same school Lauren attends. These are not isolated incidents.

Girls between 16-19 are four times more likely than the general population to be victims of rape, attempted rape, or sexual assault. 44% of sexual assaults happen before the age of 18.

WE MUST FOCUS ON EDUCATION.

Statutory laws on consent are not enough to prevent rape. Educating teens about issues of consent and healthy relationships is essential to reversing the horrifying statistics.

Yes All Daughters has worked with Oklahoma lawmaker and former high school teacher, Representative Jacob Rosecrants, to introduce Oklahoma House Bill 1007- Lauren's Law- to address the need for consent and healthy relationship education.

When passed, it will allow for the development of age-appropriate programs on consent and healthy relationship behavior. These programs will teach students about consent and how to recognize and prevent relationship violence, including physical and emotional relationship abuse. It will also address relationship communication skills, emotional health, and accountability.

Federal funds are available for this consent and safe relationship education to be implemented at the state level through Title IV-A of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Under the last administration, the White House Council on Women and Girls Report estimated the cost of rape to be as high as $240,776 per incident, including medical services, investigations, loss of productivity, and quality of life. With the high cost of assault and federal funding available, there’s no excuse not to protect and educate our kids.

Let’s do this for Lauren, the young women we started our movement for, and all the survivors who hope for a better world.

SIGN OUR PETITION AND DEMAND THAT OKLAHOMA LAWMAKERS MAKE OUR CHILDREN’S HEALTH AND SAFETY A PRIORITY BY PASSING THIS IMPORTANT BILL.

EDUCATION IS PREVENTION. Call and email your legislators.

Stand with us against Sexual Violence. No more Silence. No more Shame.