Kerry Washington, Jon Hamm Join President Obama for ‘It’s On Us’ Sexual Assault PSA (Video)

Joel McHale, Rose Byrne, Questlove and other celebrities also appear in new video

President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and various celebrities have lent their voices to a new campaign aimed at stopping sexual assault on college campuses, launched with a video promoting the It’s On Us official website.

“It’s on us to stop sexual assault,” Kerry Washington, Jon Hamm and others say into the camera. “To get in the way before it happens. To get a friend home safe.”

Also read: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell: ‘I Got it Wrong, I’m Sorry’

More pointedly, Joel McHale adds, “To not blame the victim.”

Obama revealed the campaign in a Friday press conference.

He said, “From sports leagues to pop culture to politics, our society does not sufficiently value women. We still don’t condemn sexual assault as loudly as we should.”

Also read: NFL Domestic Abuse Scandal Is a Wake-Up Call and May Finally Bring Change

Obama also conceded that recent headlines involving NFL players and domestic abuse scandals partly explain the timing of the campaign’s launch.

“We’ve been working on campus sexual assault for several years, but the issue of violence against women is now in the news every day,” he said. “We’re getting a better picture of what domestic violence is all about. People are talking about it. Victims are realizing they’re not alone.”

See video: ‘Scandal’s’ Kerry Washington Sheds Light on Domestic Violence in New PSA

Washington has participated in two PSAs in as many days. She also spoke out on financial abuse in conjunction with Allstate Foundation’s Purple Purse initiative.

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