Campus Sexual Assault 1

Running Head: CAMPUS SEXUAL ASSAULT

The Real Reasons Sexual Assaults on College Campuses Arent Reported

Claire D. Galvin
Glen Allen High School

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Introduction
While many colleges and universities have training programs and Title IX regulations in
order to prevent its occurrence, sexual assault is still an issue that has run rampant in the United
States for decades. It affects both male and female students all across the country, however it is a
clouded issue that is surrounded by complications because of dismal reporting and conviction
rates. Many people who report an incident of sexual assault undergo victim blaming, with
people telling them that the sexual assault occurred because of something they wore or
somewhere they went. Even if a sexual assault case is reported, very few rapists and assaulters
actually face any sort of consequence. These days, many survivors do not report what happened
to them, due to embarrassment, fear, and a lack of action by colleges and police. This reluctance
to report can be reversed by increasing awareness, bettering resources, and assigning harsher
punishments to perpetrators.
Title IX
Title IX is a law that was put into effect by President Nixon in 1972. Its purpose is to
prevent any sort of discrimination based on sex in any federally funded educational program or
activity, including K-12 education and public colleges and universities. Initially, the main focus
of this law was on athletics: whether men's and women's teams had equal funding, comparable
practice and game times, and equal publicity. Recently, however, Title IX has had more
emphasis on other issues involving men and women, including sexual assault (United States
Department of Justice, 2015). Under Title IX, schools can be put under federal investigation for
not handling sexual assault cases properly. For example, JMU is currently under investigation
because there was an incident where a female student, who has since withdrawn from the school,
was sexually assaulted by three male students, who then went on to spread videos of the incident

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around campus. JMU found them responsible, however their only punishment was being
expelled after graduation (Kingkade, 2014).
Title IX is a monumental movement aimed to reduce the number of sexual assault cases
that occur at schools. Within the past two years, with the help of the Obama administration, the
number of Title IX investigations has more than tripled (Cohen and St. Clair, 2016). While this
is a giant leap in the right direction, sexual violence wont be eradicated on college campuses
unless victims file a complaint or report to the police, something that is often not done in cases of
sexual assault.
Sexual Assault Statistics
In order to examine why victims dont report sexual assault, it is important to first
investigate what sexual assault on college campuses looks like. Sexual assault comprises of any
type of sexual activity that the recipient does not want or agree to, and usually includes touching
or intercourse against a person's will (Fagen et al., 2011). It includes, but is not limited to, rape,
attempted rape, inappropriate touching, and unwanted sexual conduct. One of the biggest
misconceptions about sexual assault is that it is only men who attack women, when in reality, it
can happen to a person of any gender, by a person of any gender. Sexual assault is an epidemic
everywhere, however college women are at a higher risk for rape and sexual assault than women
who are in the general population or who are around the same age (Armstrong et al., 2006).
Sexual assault on college campuses occurs far too often; according to the National Sexual
Violence Resource Center, approximately one in every five female college students will be
sexually assaulted in one form or another by the time she graduates (2015). To put this in
perspective, in a class that has 900 female students, 180 of them will be sexually assaulted by the
time they leave college.

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While rape and sexual assault can happen during any sort of situation in college, most
cases occur at parties. The US Department of Justice calls this type of sexual assault party
rape, which is defined as a distinct form of rapethat occurs at an off-campus house or on- or
off-campus fraternity and involvesplying a woman with alcohol or targeting an intoxicated
woman (Armstrong et al., 2006). Party rape is actually a form of another type of sexual assault
known as acquaintance rape. The name suggests its definitiona person is raped or assaulted by
someone that they know. While party rape is technically a form of acquaintance rape, it is not
uncommon for a victim to have never met his or her assailant.
Womenand sometimes menwho have consumed alcohol are seen as easy targets for
rapists because of the inhibitive effects alcohol has on perception and decision making. In fact,
at least 50%, and perhaps up to 75%, of college campus sexual assaults involve alcohol
consumption on the part of the victim, the perpetrator, or both (Armstrong et al., 2006).
According to Fagen et al., each year, 100,000 students report that they had sex while being too
intoxicated to know if they actually consented to it (2011). When one is unable to consent to sex
due to intoxication, it is considered rape (Grant and Bowman, 2010).
Intoxication due to alcohol affects males and females in different ways. In men, alcohol
increases their focus on proximal feelings of sexual arousal rather than more distant issues, such
as the potential for later punishment. For women, alcohol increases their focus on
nonthreatening clues, making them more vulnerable to real threats (Fagen et al., 2011). These
differing effects of intoxication, coupled with the trust that is felt even among strangers at a
party, emphasize stereotypical gender roles. While this may not seem very notable, these gender
roles are actually a very prominent contributor to sexual assault, because men feel they must be
forceful and dominant, while women often act demure and passive (Fagen et al., 2011).

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These acts of dominance have been known to lead to verbal coercion. This form of verbal
pressure has been the cause of unwanted sexual conduct faced by 10% of female undergrads
(Gray, 2015).
On average, roughly 25% of men on college campuses are in a fraternity. Fraternity men,
though a small section of the college population, account for 46% of sexual assault perpetrators
(Wantland, 2005). Additionally, fewer than 5% of male college students commit anywhere
between 90-95% of rapes and sexual assault on campus (Off the Sidelines PAC, 2014). Julie
Zeilinger, a student at Barnard College, has done research on repeat offenders at colleges and
universities, and noted:
There was a study that was done that shows that men on college campuses who
are perpetrators are more often than not repeat offenders. The average number of
people a perpetrator will sexually assault is six, according to this study. So this
isnt a random phenomenon, this doesnt just happen in an alley or when
someones incredibly drunk at a party. There is a certain profile for what sexual
assault looks like on a college campus, and that is why we need administrators to
be open and transparent about that. (TIME, 2015)
Though typically the assailants, men can also be the victims of sexual assault. In fact,
according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, one in sixteen male students will be
sexually assaulted by the time he graduates. This number is roughly four and a half times the
rate of male sexual assault outside of college. Thirty-five percent of these male survivors
experience short- or long-term impacts, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (2015). Women
are normally thought of as the typical victim, but men need just as much protection and
recognition as female students do.
Case Study
In order to fully understand the effect sexual assault has on a victim, it can be helpful to

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look at specific case studies. Throughout the past few years, a woman named Emma Sulkowicz
has gained a lot of media attention because of her tragic story. At the beginning of her
sophomore year at Columbia University, she was raped by a classmate. Like many others in her
position, she didnt report at first, because its a big, emotional trauma and [she] didnt feel like
dealing with it. Eventually, she heard that the same assailant had assaulted two other students
on campus, so she decided to report what happened in hopes that he would be removed from the
school, unable to harm another person. Her hearing took place seven months later and the male
student was cleared of all charges. About her hearing, she told TIME Magazine:
I dont actually get to write a statement about what happened; its all the
investigators statement that they read. Theres an office called the Office of
Gender-Based and Sexual Misconduct. You go in there, and at that time a woman
was working there, so I told her what had happened. She was the one who took
erroneous notes and missed really important things that I said. Since her
statement didnt make any sense, my case didnt make any sense. (TIME, 2015)
Because her assaulter was cleared of all charges, he was allowed to stay at school. Sulkowicz
says that shes afraid of leaving [her] room, and that seeing people who remotely look like
[her] rapist is a scary thing. Even though the male student raped her, he is still going to get to
graduate and get the same quality education as her. In a solemn conclusion to her story, she says
her assault is like a cloud that will always hang over her (TIME, 2015).
Looking at Emma Sulkowiczs story, it is clear to see that sexual assault has a horrible
impact on victims, especially when they dont get the justice they deserve. It is also apparent
that reporting the crime doesnt always get favorable outcomes, which is one of the major
reasons survivors dont report what happened to them. Many people have lost all faith in
colleges and law enforcement because of the lack of response in terms of punishing sexual
assaulters and rapists.

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Reporting Sexual Assault
Although it is a very prevalent issue on college campuses, sexual assault cases are often
not reported to the local police or the college in which they occur. Even when victims report
what happened to them, their assailants often walk away scot-free, without punishment from
their school or the law, a trend portrayed perfectly by Emma Sulkowiczs rapist (TIME, 2015).
Part of the reason for this is due to the complex nature of rape cases. Often, victims wait to
report their assault, which can leave little to no admissible evidence usable by the school or
police.

Figure 1. Graph of percentages of sexual assault, rape, and sexual battery reports. (Krebs et al.,
2016).
In a study conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (summarized in Figure 1), eight
schoolswhich remain anonymous in the reportwere investigated for their sexual assault,

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rape, and sexual battery report rates. Even the school with the highest ratings had rates that were
dismally low6% for rape, 13% for sexual battery, and 20% for sexual assault. On average for
the eight schools, rape and sexual battery were reported about 5% of the time, and sexual assault
was reported roughly 10% of the time (Krebs et al., 2016). This means that the majority of rape
and sexual assault victims get no justice for what happened to them. Although only eight schools
were surveyed, the Bureau of Justice Statistics selected them to represent the sexual assault case
trends of our country as accurately as possible.
Throughout the United States, 41% of schools that were surveyed by Off the Sidelines
PAC have not conducted a single sexual assault complaint investigation in the past five years. Of
the colleges and universities that have performed investigations, only 13-30% of students found
responsible for assaults were permanently expelled from the school (2014). Activist Julie
Zeilinger adds:
A lot of people think that, when they go to a campus and see that there are zero
sexual assaults reported, that that is a really positive thing, that that must mean
that that campus is incredibly safe and is going to be a great place. Actually,
when you consider the fact that the overall rates of sexual assault on campus are
as high as one in four, if you see a campus reporting zero sexual assaults, that
should actually be a red flag. (TIME, 2015)
According to the US Department of Justice, rape or sexual assault is the violent crime
least often reported to law enforcement (University of Michigan Sexual Assault Prevention and
Awareness Center, 2016). People dont report their sexual assaults for a myriad of reasons. One
of the biggest influences on whether or not a victim will report assault is his or her relationship
with the assailant. When the assailant is a stranger, between 46-66% of assaults are reported.
When the assailant is a current or former intimate partner, only a quarter of sexual assaults are
reported. Even fewer assaults are reported when the assailant is a frienda measly 18%. When

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the assaulter is someone the victims know, they often dont report because they dont want their
friend or loved one to get in trouble.
Sometimes, people choose to not report what happened to them because they are
embarrassed about what others, especially friends and family, will think. Others lack faith that
the police could or would do anything to help them, especially when they believe there would
not be enough evidence to convict. Some survivors choose not to report because they dont think
the crime was serious enough (Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, 2012). Victims
have also noted that ambiguity about what constitutes illicit sexual conduct prevented them
from contacting the police (Felson and Par, 2005). Overall, only 9 percent of rapists ever get
prosecuted. Only 5% of rape and sexual assault cases ever end in a felony conviction. A
miniscule 3% of rapists will ever spend a day in prison (Maryland Coalition Against Sexual
Assault, 2012). These percentages are entirely too low. When rapists and sexual assaulters are
not punished or convicted, they are essentially being allowed to repeat their crimes. Increasing
the number of perpetrators behind bars will hopefully portray that rape is a serious crime, which
will deter people from harming others.
Possible Solutions
One of the most obvious solutions to the college sexual assault epidemic would be to
increase awareness of the assault that occurs on campuses nationwide, as some survivors dont
report because they dont think sexual assault is serious enough (Felson and Par, 2005). Doing
so would make victims realize that what happened to them is a legitimate crime, and is
something that assailants need to face consequences for. More reports would increase the
number of convictions, which could in turn increase the validity of actually reporting sexual
assault.

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Another way to increase the number of cases reported would be to believe that, as long as
there is no irrefutable evidence that suggests otherwise, victims of sexual assault are telling the
truth in their reports. One of the cited reasons for not reporting to the police or colleges is fear
that they will not be believed (Felson and Par, 2005). According to the United States Justice
Department, only 2% of rape and sexual assault accusations are false, so survivors should not be
made to feel as though they are liars (Turvey, 2009). If a victim reports but has no physical
evidence, it can be easy for some to assume they must not be telling the truth. Debunking the
myth that the victim must be lying would be a large step in the effort to encourage survivors to
report their assaults.
Decreasing the amount of victim blaming that occurs would do wonders to increase the
number of victims who come forward about what happened to them. Victim blaming means
what its name suggests: the victim is put at fault for what happened to them. Many times,
victims, women especially, are looked down upon for what they were wearing at the time of the
attack or whether or not they were intoxicated. There are many ways to prevent victim blaming.
One way is to take someone seriously if they say they have been sexually assaulted. Always let
the victim know that it is never their fault; the abuser is the one to blame (Southern Connecticut
State University, 2016).
Conclusion
Recently, schools, police, and even the federal government have put more focus on
ending sexual assault on college campuses and ensuring that rapists and assaulters get punished
for their crimes. Their efforts will encourage victims and others to step up and report cases of
sexual violence. Scott Berkowitz, the president of the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National
Network, noted that theres been more movement on this front in the last year than in the entire

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last decade. One method that colleges are using to reduce rape and sexual assault on their
campuses is to encourage students to act when they see a risky situation unfolding. When
someone else has already reported one of said risky situation[s], the victim will be more likely
to come forward if they get sexually assaulted, because at that point, they would know that the
university cares about what happened to them, that their safety is important. On the federal
government front, a bipartisan group of senators has introduced the Campus Accountability and
Safety Act, which would mandate better collaboration with the police when any sort of
accusation is made (Howard, 2015). This act would definitely increase the number of cases
reported, because it ensures the victim that the police would be interested and cooperative in
their case.
One of the most well-known Ivy League schools, Dartmouth College, has announced a
bold plan to change the culture on its campus surrounding sexual assault. Beginning this year,
the school will now require sexual violence education all four years, as opposed to it only being
required the beginning of your freshman year. Dartmouth will also be placing all on-campus
students in residential communities, which will provide both academic and social events for
them, hopefully decreasing any sexual assault, as these events will be school-sponsored. If
students still choose to go out to parties, there will now be security guards and bartenders at
parties, ensuring that no underage students be served alcohol. The school took their plan a step
further by also banning hard alcohol, one of the biggest contributors to sexual assault, and one of
the many reasons why victims dont go to the police (Howard, 2015).
Schools such as Dartmouth have led the crusade against college campus sexual assault
throughout the nation. The plans being implemented by these schools, such as required sexual
assault education all four years, will bring awareness to sexual assault and how prevalent it is on

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campuses. Widespread actions preventing sexual assault across campuses will not only reduce
the amount of sexual assault that occurs, but it will also show victims that the campus truly does
care about their safety and what happened to them. Since two of the biggest reasons victims
dont report sexual assault are because they think the crime isnt important enough and the
school wont take action, widespread awareness brought on by the school will assure them that
the school cares.
As Julie Zeilinger said, [sexual assault] is not a single campus issue. This is not an
individual issue. This is a cultural problem, (TIME, 2015). While the actions being taken
recently by schools are fantastic steps in the right direction, the problem with sexual assault
wont go away until everyoneschool faculty, students, parents, American citizensrecognizes
its severity and frequency. Once people truly understand sexual assault and its presence at
colleges and universities, sexual assault will decrease, assault reporting rates will increase, and
campuses across the country will become much safer.

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