From class project to campus-wide movement: that's the trajectory one psychology and sociology undergraduate hopes the Amplify Her Voice campaign will make.

Ana Carbonell, working on a class assignment for her Violence Against Women course, created a PSA titled Amplify Her Voice (AHV) surrounded around the idea that victims of gender-based violence are blamed too often for gendered attacks.

"A lot of things in our culture when talking about this violence is that it is always geared toward the victim," Carbonell said. "You never really hear a news report saying 'John beat Mary.' You always hear it say 'Mary was beaten by an unidentified subject [at this location].' The perpetrator is usually taken out of the equation 100 percent. All that leaves us with is questioning the victim."

The PSA begins with the chilling statistic that 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men are victims of gendered violence. Carbonell believes the rhetoric needs to be reversed. Victims should not have to worry about what they wear or what time they are walking at. On the contrary, the questions should be asked to the perpetrator.

"Our legal system, our police system, our universities, our athletic departments, our media—all they ever do is question why the woman did what she did to make this happen, when in reality the victim should not be blamed," Carbonell said. "The victim should be able wear whatever they want and walk wherever they want and be who they want to be."

The video highlights the difference between the questions being asked blaming the victim and the questions that should be asked blaming the person committing the crime. Men and women both hold up signs displaying these inquiries.

Initially, questions such as, "Is my kindness and invitation?" and "Should I have to carry pepper spray?" are exhibited on white signs. Once the video indicates that the script needs to be flipped, questions including are "Why is it okay for me to do this?" and "Why am I not blamed for my actions?"

"My responsibility is not to stop people from attacking me," Carbonell said.

The video shows 96 universities are currently under federal investigation over the handling of sexual violence and harassment complaints (Title IX), and Florida State University is one of them. Carbonell believes the only way to change campus culture is to reach out to those who normally would not come see a guest speaker on gendered violence or attend a program centered around the subject.

"The people that are coming to the events often are experts or researchers in this field and just want to hear more information," Carbonell said. "We want to show this during a freshman welcome week and promote it as part of the way campus life works."

Carbonell is currently working closely with the Health Promotion Department at University Health Services. She hopes to reach out to other organizations invested in gendered violence to eventually create an event centered around changing the conversation and blaming the perpetrator instead of the victim.