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In this op-ed, Omny Miranda Martone, founder and CEO of the Sexual Violence Prevention Association, shares stories about sexual assault survivors’ experiences with student debt.

Content Warning: Discussion of sexual violence including rape, sexual assault, and sexual harassment.

Alex’s* life completely changed after she was raped. She was attending university at the time and her assailant was in one of her classes. After the attack, she said she dropped it to avoid him. She developed PTSD and eventually had to withdraw from her remaining courses in order to process her trauma. This meant she had to repeat the entire semester. 

“When I came back, I had to retake all the classes I dropped. My school didn’t repay me for that semester. This increased my loans by over $25,000,” she shared in a survey by my organization, the Sexual Violence Prevention Association. The pause on student loans has empowered her to afford rent, food, therapy, and a small bit of savings. Unfortunately, the freeze is scheduled to end on August 31. “I’m not sure what I’m going to do once the freeze ends. I’m on an income-based repayment plan, but even with that I will be unable to afford my basic necessities.”

On September 1, the freeze on federal student loans will end for roughly 43 million people, but many feel the need for more action. According to a poll by Morning Consult and Politico, 62% of voters believe some student debt should be canceled and 19% believe all student debt should be canceled. Last week, during the Debt Collective Day of Action, thousands of people across the country advocated for student debt to be wiped out.

Of people who hold student debt, resuming loan payments will impact some more than others. Restarting student loans will hurt Black women the most. A 2021 report by the American Association of University Women found that women hold two-thirds of the $1.6 trillion student loan debt. The same report found that, on average, Black women have 22% more student debt than white women, and the highest debt of any demographic.

Campus sexual violence is also concentrated among women, particularly Black women. More than 90% of victims of rape and sexual assault are women, and Black women are more likely to experience sexual violence than white women. Among undergraduate students, 33% of women experience rape, sexual assault, sexual harassment, or another form of sexual violence.

Unfortunately, Alex is not alone in her struggle with debt after assault. As a result of campus sexual violence, many students face increased student loans and/or more difficulty paying off their loans. Alex’s story is one of many that was documented by the Sexual Violence Prevention Association in a recent survey on the inextricable link between campus sexual violence and student loan debt.

Through our survey, we found that many survivors of campus sexual violence have to retake courses after withdrawing from classes to recover, taking medical leave, or falling behind and failing as a result of trauma. Additionally, survivors can lose their scholarships because they change programs or leave extracurriculars, like sports, in order to avoid their attacker or to take time processing their trauma. Others lose their scholarship because it takes them longer to graduate or they have to retake courses.

As a result of campus sexual violence, survivors may face increased difficulty paying back loans. This might be because of mental health issues, lower GPAs, or higher medical expenses.

Millie* was raped on campus by her ex-boyfriend. She has struggled with PTSD ever since. “This has impacted my ability to retain a job. It also severely impacted my grades during my last year of college, resulting in me having a less competitive GPA on my resume for jobs.” As a result, her pay is below average for her field and she has experienced repeated joblessness, preventing her from paying off her loans. “[Canceling student loans] would make it easier for me to afford rent, food, medical expenses, and a car for getting to/from work. I might even be able to save for emergencies.”

Survivors feel trapped by their student loans. It is triggering being indebted to an institution that they feel failed to protect them. For many survivors, student debt is a burden that prevents them from moving on with their lives.

Ginger* was drugged and raped at a frat party. Soon after, she found out that her university had previously banned this fraternity because the same thing happened to another student months prior. Despite this, her university had allowed the frat to return. Paying student loans is triggering to her. “Why do I have to pay the school that failed to protect me? I was raped because of their negligence.”

Kayla* experienced campus sexual violence and it significantly impacted her mental health. After struggling for several semesters, she nearly dropped out. It took her longer to finish her degree which forced her to spend more on student loans to maintain her status. She said if student loans were canceled, “My life would belong to me again. Not to my assaulter. Not to my university. Not to my government. Just to me.”

Considering the impact sexual violence has on student debt, one might think there should be a policy or program to cancel student debt for survivors of campus sexual violence. Unfortunately, a program like that would not help an overwhelming majority of survivors.

Any loan forgiveness program that is limited to survivors would require proof of some kind. This will exclude most survivors. Sexual violence is the most unreported crime, and on college campuses, less than 20% of sexual assault is reported. Furthermore, survivors don’t want to relive their trauma and are scared they won’t be believed.

The only option is to cancel student debt for all.

Michelle* transferred schools after being sexually assaulted by a student in their program. It took an extra year for them to finish their degree at their new school, thus they incurred higher student loan debt. They say there is no way to cancel student debt only for survivors. “It’s already triggering to pay loans [for] the university where I was attacked. It would be even more triggering to have to prove that I was sexually assaulted in order to have my loans cancelled. There is no way I could ever prove that the assault took place. It was over seven years ago.” So, what do they think we should do? “Cancel student loans for everyone.”

This content was originally published here.