Sexual Assaults and rape on college campuses. An alarming problem, and here’s why.

Sexual Assaults and rape on college campuses. An alarming problem, and here’s why.As we begin a new year of classes there’s a problem that is not raising enough alarms. Sexual Assaults; as the crime rates of college campuses stay the same thanks to data not including the assaults, we face one of the hardest crimes to track down and resolve. The problem comes down to state laws, lack of reports, and the difficulty of getting a guilty sentence.

According to RAINN (Rape Abuse & Incest National Network) “Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.”.  These numbers are especially significant during the so called Red Zone (August, September, October, and November) where the 50 percent of all sexual assaults happen.

 

The difficulty of tracking down and resolving sexual assault cases comes down to three major factors:

 

First, there’s a major problem with the definition of rape. For example, the case with the ex Stanford student found guilty of sexual assault; technically not being a rapist according to California law because he as Lydia O’Connor explained in her article for The Huffington Post. “didn’t penetrate his victim with his penis. Instead, prosecutors could only charge him with sexual assault — a lesser charge — because he penetrated her with a foreign object, his finger.”

 

Second, approximately 63 percent of the victims for these crimes don’t report immediately and could actually never report them. Even with the recently raised awareness campaigns in college campuses; women and men feel the need to hide the crime and just forget about it.

 

Third, when survivors come forward, prosecutors decide to pass on their cases. Thanks to the difficulty of getting a guilty verdict on sexual assaults. The prosecutors pursue only the strongest cases (that of course guarantee a win). The lack of witnesses and the usual presence of alcohol make this task even more complicated. Making the survivors feel this is as an uphill battle from the beginning.

 

The way college campuses handle the sexual assault cases has been considered inefficient; a drifting perception nowadays thanks to the push of the 2011 title IX guidance or “dear Colleague” letter released by federal government. The letter as Anne Ard Executive Director at the County Women’s Resource Center in State College explained to Joan Raymond from NBC News “required schools to address complaints of sexual violence or risk losing federal funding”

 

Most campuses try to be an addition, not a replacement for what the police does. Focusing on the priorities of the assaulted student; providing all the necessary elements for the individual to continue her or his career. For example, dorm and class transfers, as well as mental health support.

 

Others say that colleges don’t do enough. Some colleges decide to not expel the student who committed the sexual assault. Only one in every three students found guilty of sexual assault gets expelled. And the reason is not marked on the student’s transcripts; creating concern in the community.

 

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/college-game-plan/what-you-need-know-about-red-zone-when-campus-sexual-n649686

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/sexual-assault-explainer_us_5759aa2fe4b0ced23ca74f12

http://www.dailypress.com/news/education/dp-nws-evg-campus-crime-20170821-story.html

https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence

 

 



Comments are closed.