Sexual Assault on College Campuses: An Epidemic

By Megan Roy

January 3, 2017
Mrs. Oliveira Period 3

Humanities 1

Sexual Assault on College Campuses: An Epidemic

Every two minutes, a woman is a victim of rape in America. Rape is a form of sexual assault,
yet, contrary to the popular perception, not all sexual assault entails rape. Sexual assault is a crime,
most commonly referring to sexual behaviors that occur without the victims consent. The three
principal forms of sexual assault crimes include: completed or attempted rape, unwanted touching
and fondling of the victim, and demanding the victim to sexually act upon the attacker (PACT5: What
Is Sexual Assault?). Oftentimes, the force used by the attacker is not physical, rather, it is emotional,
and/or psychological, and often manipulative. The epidemic of sexual assault crimes occurs
predominantly on college campuses, especially with regard to women. Through several studies
completed over the past five years, results indicate that college campuses, coupled with the
government, are not doing nearly enough to deter such instances from occurring. In fact, statistics
prove that the number of sexual assaults on campuses are increasing. Sexual assault can happen at
any time, to anyone, yet typically targets women. The pervasiveness of sexual assaults on college
campuses requires increased systemic interventions in order to reduce their frequency and hopefully
eradicate the issue.
Roughly 27% of women experience some form of sexual assault while in college, a number far
too high considering the numerous actions plans and laws implemented by the government
(Prez-Pea). Such programs, required to be directly incorporated within the education systems,
permit the development of the end goal: to decrease the prevalence of on-campus sexual assault,
namely for women. Yet, evidently, the execution of these plans fails in effectiveness, as the number of
sexual assaults continues to rise.
In April of 2014, President Barack Obama, coupled with the White House Task Force to Protect
Students From Sexual Assault, offered four action steps for college campuses through the Not Alone
Campaign, targeted to, strengthen federal enforcement efforts and provide schools with additional

Humanities 2

tools to combat sexual assault on their campuses (Federal Efforts). The campaign strives to reduce
the frequency of sexual assaults. The first step, mandating Campus Climate surveys, provides surveys
to colleges nationwide to, generate data on the nature and extent of sexual assault on campuses, as
well as campus attitudes surrounding sexual assault (Not Alone). These Campus Climate surveys
are designed to aid the campus and government in extracting reliable data regarding the occurrence
of sexual assault on campus. A thorough examination of the results allows universities to best
determine how to further support the prevention of future assaults. This action step serves to allow
campuses to grasp their progress, or lack thereof, in the realm of sexual assaults.
The engagement of men in preventing assaults is another concept highlighted in the Not
Alone Campaign, as when men become allies and stand-up to protect women, the frequency of these
attacks will decline. This action step calls for the idea of implementing a bystander intervention
program on campuses to increase the likelihood of helping the principally female victims (Not
Alone). Perhaps the more significant area of focus for this action step, however, is victim consent. If
the victim simply does not consent, or cannot consent due to decreased motor functioning from
alcohol or drugs, the assault is considered a crime. This second action step, largely focuses on finding
a feasible solution to the issue through encouraging male and bystander involvement, and through
providing an unambiguous definition of consent.
Providing the students with easy access to varying forms of outreach immediately following an
attack also remains a key component to the Not Alone Campaign. Confidential support must be
provided by on campus advocates, whether in the form of womens services, counseling, or volunteer
involvement in sexual assault centers. These services, whether directly accessible on campus, or by
means of a hotline, need to be available at all hours of the day. In other words, the school has a
responsibility of informing students of: where to go, whom to go to, and what the necessary
precautions are to take following an assault, in the event a victim seeks help (Not Alone). A

Humanities 3

definitive and easily understood sexual assault policy, however, is perhaps one of the more crucial
areas of the campaign for universities nationwide. Although varying by school, this definition needs to
address the same general issues such as: what sexual assault is, what is and is not consent, and how
students can be involved in developing a plan to eradicate sexual assaults. Additionally, the idea of
trauma-informed training for school officials, mandated by the U.S. Justice Department, will also
increase the connections among students and faculty, in that, a trusting relationship will in return
encourage a student to report an assault. Aside from this connection, improving disciplinary systems,
especially the school adjudication processes, to determine what works well and what does not, is
essential (Not Alone).. In hopes to bring to light the need for a more precise program, a more
extensive protocol of dealing with and reporting these instances should be developed. In embodying
the necessity for effective and proper responses following an assault, this third action step serves to
raise campus awareness on increasing safety provisions.
The fourth, and final action step of the campaign relates to increasing the government's
involvement. This step provides victims an opportunity to report incidents. This opportunity and
ability to access additional resources to assist victims occurs by going to notalone.gov. Accessing this
site allows students to go online and file a complaint within their school if they do not believe all four
action steps are being appropriated either at all, or simply well enough. Sexual assault victims can also
use this website to locate services of central importance to them, by simply typing in their zip code.
Utilizing the website ideally promotes the reporting of such cases, and teaches the victim about her
legal rights, and helps the victim find important support services (Not Alone). The basis of the Not
Alone Campaign incorporates the idea of lowering the number of sexual assaults on campuses by
involvement of the student body, faculty, bystanders, the community, and the government.
Similar to notalone.gov., the Campus Grant Program, enacted in 1998, also notes the
prevalence of sexual assault and works to promote awareness of this violent act by strengthening

Humanities 4

services to victims, but also sentencing offenders more frequently. Schools involved with the Campus
Grant Program, however, must provide prevention programs, train school officials and on-campus law
enforcement, and create a response within the community to prevent future violence. In 2013, there
were 28 Campus Grant programs, totaling over seven million dollars in outreach to universities
(Protecting Students from Sexual Assault). By funding universities to develop sexual assault
awareness and offer services on campus, the program increases the likely rate of reporting assault by
students and also its victims. It also administers a greater assistance to victims on campus and allows
for further investigations to be undertaken.
According to The United States Department of Justice, the Campus Grant programs also
increase active bystander behavior as a result of the grants being administered by The Office on
Violence Against Women (Protecting Students from Sexual Assault). The OVW, administers grant
programs authorized by the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, which also significantly impacts
the reduction of sexual assault on campuses (Protecting Students from Sexual Assault). The VAWA,
enacted in 1994 by Senator Joe Biden, was designed to assist victimized women. The Act endorsed the
necessity of implementation of an array of services to victims nationwide. This law ultimately
strengthens the penalties for repeat sex offenders, guarantees that the victim will have no future
contact with her attacker, and mandates that victims do not have to pay for any rape exams. The
persistence of police and authorities involvement in responding to these attacks has led to increase
of convicted assailants (Factsheet: The Violence Against Women Act). Through legislation of VAWA,
victims are provided with multiple means of coping with the attack, including provision of a hotline
similar to that of a suicide hotline, but pertaining to sexual assaults and legal help. Since enacted,
several positive changes have been noted, as, Between 1993 and 2010, the rate of intimate partner
violence declined 67%, indicating the start of a hopeful decline of such instances occurring
(Factsheet: The Violence Against Women Act). State policies have also been altered under VAWA,

Humanities 5

with stalking now considered criminal, and rape, regardless of stranger or acquaintance rape, is
treated the same. Yet, the policies offered thus far are doing everything except meet their end goal to reduce sexual assault on college campuses.
Colleges are not doing enough to combat sexual assault, and in October of 2014, the U.S.
Department of Education released information regarding the number of sexual assaults across New
England. Assaults in institutions in the state of Massachusetts increased visibly from 2008 to 2013
(See Fig. 1). Specifically assaults at Boston University in particular, increased from .27 in 2011 to .31
in 2012 and 2013 (Cariker). As seen in Figure 1, Harvard University also peaked in sexual assault cases
from 2008 to 2013, and, in the years of 2011 to 2013, the numbers of such assaults have continued to
rise.

Fig. 1. Cariker, Mariel. Reports of Sexual Assault on the Rise at New England Campuses. The Daily
Free Press, The Independent School Newspaper at Boston University, 10 Oct. 2014,
www.dailyfreepress.com/2014/10/10/reports-of-sexual-assault-on-the-rise-at-new-england-campuse
s/.
Additionally, the University of Connecticut, saw sexual assault reports nearly double from 13 in 2012
to 25 last year, putting its rate for 2013 at 0.88 per 1,000 students (Rocheleau).

Humanities 6

If there is an increase of awareness on college campuses, the numbers should be lessening,

not growing. The answer lies within the realm of what campuses are not doing. Colleges simply fail to
educate their student bodies with regard to the realities this crime, the administrators lack effective
communication, implemented plans, federal funding (i.e. Campus Grants), reporting tools, and also
the training of staff. Research has determined that, Just over half of colleges have 24-hour
hotlines...and only 44% have websites for reporting sexual assaults, leaving the remaining 56% of
institutions without a means of reporting assaults online, and just under half of them without hotlines
to report assaults (Mantel). It was also determined that 84% of schools fail to survey their students
following sexual assaults (Howard). This fails to deliver on the mandate of Campus Climate Surveys, a
major factor in the Not Alone Campaign.
The idea of trauma-informed training for students and faculty, has been disregarded by many
universities. In fact, approximately 20% of 440 surveyed colleges failed to train faculty on how to
approach sexual assault reports, 53% of students failed to receive proper training, and, Nearly 73%
do not have protocols for how campus authorities and local law enforcement should work together
when cases arise (Marklein and Shesgreen). Many institutions are not combatting sexual assault on
campus properly, or following the action steps provided by the Not Alone Campaign, as highlighted in
these statistics. Colleges fail to train school officials and students, leading to the inevitability of the
lack of the awareness of defense tactics during an attack, and the lack of reliable outreach available
following an attack. Even worse, only one percent of assailants are disciplined by the school, and only
one percent are arrested, charged, or convicted (Gilson). Assailants will continue to carry out attacks if
nothing changes, therefore, mandating the implementation of a punitive code must occur.
Some colleges, however, are taking steps to lessen and eradicate their rates of sexual assaults
on campus. Making campus life safer, has been a factor associated with combating assault, as,
Representatives of more than 50 institutions are expected to gather at Dartmouth College, one of

Humanities 7

the schools being investigated, for a Summit on Sexual Assault focused on making college campuses
safer (Marklein and Shesgreen). Colleges efforts are becoming more visible in their decision to
combat this issue, yet, numbers of assault are still increasing. Dartmouths initiative is noticeable, in
deciding to implement academic programs within the curriculum, mandate education on sexual
assault prevention for all four years of college, and require summer work prior to entering freshman
year. Elon University in North Carolina, among others like Dartmouth, have also required students to
take a course which educates them on the effect of alcohol on behavior and the tenets for an ethical
relationship (Howard). The idea of Dartmouth also placing a ban on hard alcohol, and requiring some
sort of supervision at parties, shows their effort to reduce these assaults. Alcohol and lack of
supervision are primary factors in these assaults with at least fifty percent of sexual assaults occurring
as a result of intoxication, and roughly fifty five percent of assaults happening at a party (PACT5:
What Is Sexual Assault?). This realization and action demonstrate the need for colleges to monitor
alcohol consumption and the number of parties around campus. Following Dartmouths and Elons
lead, other institutions, like Brown and Swarthmore have joined in this effort.
Colleges, though too few, are beginning to take more precautions to work to curb the
continued increase in sexual assaults. In an attempt to educate students on these areas which greatly
influence the reduction rates of sexual assaults on campus, colleges are starting to enlighten their
student body more so than before. The colleges lack of encouragement in many areas adds to the
climbing rate of sexual assaults. Their failure to communicate these ideas to students is evident, and
some initiative needs to be taken to better enforce these policies. Likewise, there are few schools that
truly are trying to combat this epidemic involving sexual assault, Dartmouth being one of those. Until
the statistics prove otherwise, however, the remaining institutions, (being a large majority of those in
the country) which do not advocate properly for the termination of all sexual assaults, need to take
action immediately.

Humanities 8

With continual reports of sexual assaults, however, it appears evident that the majority of
institutions nationwide, coupled with the government, are not doing nearly enough to prevent them.
While government implemented outreach provides a standard for combatting this issue, data proves
that they are either not being used effectively, or simply do not work on college campuses. Statistics
have also proven that sexual assault on campus is more prevalent than ever before, especially
regarding women, with greater than twenty five percent of women experiencing completed assault
since entering college. In combatting, and eventually ending this epidemic, institutions need to follow
the guidelines surrounding these campaigns and laws provided. In lacking the proper tools,
communication programs, and proper training of staff, campuses are setting themselves up for
failure, and worse, they set up students for becoming victims of assault. If more schools nationwide
take initiative to mirror the action steps of Dartmouth, a decline in sexual assaults is probable. In
failing to provide a punishment for assailants, it is likely that the offender will strike again. If colleges
punished, and even convicted such offenders, they might end this violence that targets women on
college campuses.

Humanities 9

Works Cited
Cariker, Mariel. Reports of Sexual Assault on the Rise at New England Campuses. The Daily Free
Press, The Independent School Newspaper at Boston University, 10 Oct. 2014,
www.dailyfreepress.com/2014/10/10/reports-of-sexual-assault-on-the-rise-at-new-england-c
ampuses/.
Factsheet: The Violence Against Women Act. The White House, The White House, 2014,
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/vawa_factsheet.pdf.
Federal Efforts. Changing Our Campus Culture, Center for Changing Our Campus Culture, 2015,
www.changingourcampus.org/federal-efforts/white-house-taskforce.
Gilson, Dave. 1 In 5 Women Is Sexually Assaulted in College. Just 1 Percent of Attackers Are
Punished. Mother Jones, 3 Dec. 2014,
www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/12/campus-sexual-assault-rape-stats-charts.
Howard, Beth. How Colleges Are Battling Sexual Violence. US News, U.S.News &Amp; World Report,
28 Aug. 2015,
www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/28/how-colleges-are-battling-sexual-violence.
Mantel, Barbara. Campus Sexual Assault. CQ Researcher by CQ Press, SAGE Publishing, 31 Oct. 2014,
www.library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/document.php?id=cqresrre2014103100.
Marklein, Mary Beth, and Deirdre Shesgreen. Colleges Ignoring Sexual Assault, Senator Charges.
USA Today, USA Today and Gannett Washington Bureau, Sept. 2014,
www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/07/09/claire-mccaskill-college-sexual-assault-re
port/12400401/.
Not Alone. Not Alone, The White House Task Force, Apr. 2014,
www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/report_0.pdf.

Humanities 10

PACT5: What Is Sexual Assault? What Is Sexual Assault?, PACT5, 2013,

www.pact5.org/what-is-sexual-assault/.
Prez-Pea, Richard. 1 In 4 Women Experience Sex Assault on Campus. The New York Times, 21
Sept. 2015,
www.nytimes.com/2015/09/22/us/a-third-of-college-women-experience-unwanted-sexual-co
ntact-study-finds.html?_r=0.
Protecting Students from Sexual Assault. U.S. Department of Justice, 12 Oct. 2016,
www.justice.gov/ovw/protecting-students-sexual-assault.
Rocheleau, Matt. Reports of Sexual Assaults on Area College Campuses Rise ... The Boston Globe, 6
Oct. 2014,
www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2014/10/05/reports-sexual-assaults-area-college-campuses-risesharply/f0r0boigyspvoawn5yxedi/story.html.