When sophomore reaghan Jokovich heard that a New York Supreme Court judge had denied singer Kesha’s request to be released from a contract with music producer Dr. Luke, who Kesha claims drugged and raped her, she said she felt awful.

Kesha’s contract with Dr. Luke’s Kemosabe Records states that she is obligated to record six albums with the producer. To date, Kesha has released two albums, the last one in 2012.

In 2014, the singer filed a lawsuit claiming Dr. Luke drugged, raped and emotionally abused her. Dr. Luke denied the claims and filed a countersuit accusing Kesha of defamation.

Because Kesha’s request for a preliminary injunction was denied in February, she will not be able to record songs with other labels. The singer appealed the decision in late March; however, her appeal was tossed out in early April.

For senior Moira Kehoe, the outcome of the injunction wasn’t a huge shock.

“Honestly, I’m not surprised by it,” she said. “As much as I would hope when women come forward on something so traumatic that people accept them and are there for them, I know that’s not realistic, and that’s why a lot of people don’t come forward.”

Jokovich said Kesha’s difficult situation may prevent other sexual assault victims from telling their stories.

“The one time she actually tried to come out and tell everyone that she was sexually assaulted, (she couldn’t get out of her contract),” she said. “People are going to be more timid of coming out if they’ve been sexually assaulted, because they think nobody will believe them, and they’ll just have to live with it.”

Kehoe said much the same.

“It’s harder to come out about it when you’re afraid of how people are going to look at you afterwards … look at Kesha,” she said. “So I would say be brave about it, but also be smart about it. Because if you’re in danger coming forward, make sure you’re going to go to somewhere where you know you’re going to be protected.”

According to Susan Ferguson, executive director at Prevail, a Hamilton County organization that advocates for victims of crime and abuse, many sexual assault survivors keep quiet about their assaults because others question their choices and whether the assault actually happened.

“There’s a lot of victim blaming that happens around sexual assault. You can imagine how our society makes it almost shameful for someone to have been a victim,” Ferguson said. “(Society) asks questions like, ‘What was she wearing? Did she lead them on?’ (Society calls sexual assault) something like next morning regret.”

According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, most sexual assault cases go unreported—only 26 percent of assaults against females in the United States were reported between 1992 and 2000.

Ferguson said society should believe victims when they come forward.

“With sexual assault, instead of being, ‘Oh, are you sure that happened?’… To a survivor, start by believing what survivors say,” she said. “The more we have support for victims, the more likely people will be to report, and the more likely we are to have convictions and to send the message to perpetrators that they are the ones in the wrong.”

For her part, Jokovich said society needs to be more aware of sexual assault in general.

“You mostly hear about people getting murdered and kidnapped … sexual assault, there’s just not a lot of awareness about it … a lot of people are too scared to announce that they’ve been sexually assaulted,” she said. “I really think that we need to be more careful, we really shouldn’t be so naive to what’s going on. We should realize what’s happening.”

However, the situation may already be changing. From #FreeKesha and #SonySupportsRape on Twitter to petitions for Sony to release Kesha from her contract, celebrities and fans alike have taken to social media to support the singer.

In terms of celebrities, one of Kesha’s outspoken supporters has been singer Lady Gaga. Gaga’s performance of her Oscar-nominated single “Til It Happens to You,” a song about suffering from sexual assault, at the Academy Awards also helped spark conversations about sexual assault.

The efforts from Kesha’s supporters may have paid off—according to The Wrap, Sony will cut ties with Dr. Luke. However, Dr. Luke denied the reports, according to The Week.

“Public opinion of Dr. Luke and of the situation is so bad because artists like Adele are stepping up …(and) artists like Taylor Swift donating $250,000 to (Kesha),” Kehoe said. “When stars come out like that and say that they’re with her, that changes public opinion because those people have mass influence.”

Kehoe said Kesha’s contractual dispute could have implications for students at CHS.

“For girls here at school, even if it’s this guy who’s older than you doing it, even if it’s your boyfriend who’s making you do things that you don’t want to do, even if you’ve done them before, it doesn’t matter,” Kehoe said. “Show women that they can step up; they can say no. Even if guys are more powerful than them, older than them, stronger than them, they have the right to say no. Also teach boys that when girls don’t want to, you’re not allowed to. Teach girls that too, because … boys on a smaller scale are (also) survivors of rape.”
For Jokovich, this case raised safety concerns. “She was such an inspiration to a lot of kids,” Jokovich said. “She used to be really famous; she used to have all these new pop songs. Seeing what she’s been going through for the past two years without knowing about it … really affects kids like us, not just in Carmel but around the world. I think especially at Carmel, we see that we have a lot of these things taken for granted. (This) makes us feel a different way when we hear about what’s been going on with a celebrity, because it could happen to us as well.”