How To Take The "It's On Us" Pledge

We already knew that Lady Gaga's Oscars performance would be incredibly important and emotional due to its subject matter. Joined onstage by survivors, Lady Gaga performed the song "Till It Happens To You" from The Hunting Ground, a documentary about sexual assault on college campuses. Joe Biden introduced the performance and urged everyone to take the "It's On Us" pledge, which can be found here. His words were brief but powerful and he arguably sent one of the most important messages of the evening — survivors of sexual assault are not alone and are never to blame.

The pledge is simple but so important — rape culture affects all of us and it's up to every single person to do our part to fight it in every way we can, both big and small. Unfortunately, the prevalence of sexual assault means that so many of us will be affected directly. Signing the pledge will only take a minute of your time, but I urge everyone to spread the word, start important conversations about sexual abuse, and educate those around us about the resources available to victims. No one deserves to hide in silence or be ashamed for telling his or her story. We can all combat rape culture by sharing statements like Biden's and pledging to stop the cycle of shame that so often consumes victims.

Here is Biden's full statement:

I never expected one of the best moments of the night to come from our Vice President, but I'm so grateful that he took the stage to share these important, inspiring words.