A new report issued Monday by the Association of American Universities said that 25 percent of college women are sexually violated before graduation. The research was based on feedback from approximately 150,000 students from 27 top universities interviewed last spring. These statistics are higher than the 20 percent reported in 2014, which compelled the creation of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault by the Obama administration. This has led to a national push to look into the sexual assault incidents happening on U.S. college campuses. (Sexual assault is defined as any involuntary sexual act in which a person is coerced, or physically forced to engage in, against their will.)
First-year students are at a higher threat of being sexually violated during the “red zone.” This is the time during first six weeks of college —usually between student orientation and Thanksgiving break. During this time, a freshman is very vulnerable, as they are in unfamiliar surroundings and experiencing freedom for the first time.
The initial report by the White House task force, Not Alone, also learned that 75 percent of the women sexually violated are either freshman or sophomores, and 84 percent of the time, the offender is another student. In most cases, the perpetrator is known to the victim, whether as a friend, classmate, acquaintance, or (ex) boyfriend.
The report also showed that many of the victims are assaulted while drugged, drunk, passed out, or otherwise incapacitated —survivors of intoxicated assault.
According to the American Civil Liberties Union, 95 percent of the attacks are not reported. The experts partially fault this on the social stigma that surrounds the assault or fear of blame. For the cases that are reported, many of them are simply swept under the rug by college overseers. This is a breach of the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which necessitates all universities and colleges that participate in federal financial aid programs to preserve and reveal campus crime statistics and security information.
A 2014 report by the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight revealed that 40 percent of the 440 colleges and universities sampled have not carried out any investigation on sexual violence in the last five years. The report also shows that more than 10 percent do not have a staff member who is a Title IX coordinator, as mandated by law. A Title IX coordinator is responsible for coordinating an institution’s compliance efforts, including investigations of sexual harassment and sexual violence.
In an email to CNBC, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights said that investigations are being carried out in 139 colleges over fears that the colleges are violating Title IX in their management of sexual violence incidences. In 2014, there were 84 cases under investigation.
Among those being investigated: Vanderbilt, John Hopkins, Cornell, Stanford, Occidental College, Brown, and Harvard. If found responsible, and if they decline to attend to the problems noted by the OCR, they could lose their federal funding.
To curb these worrying statistics, many courageous students are forming college-focused organizations to speak out about sexual violence. For instance, The Girl Code Movement was founded by three Syracuse University’s sorority sisters, who were all survivors of sexual assault. They have been unrelenting in teaching the importance of bystander intervention to the fraternities and sororities on campus.
Four boys from Dover-Sherborn Regional High School in Dover, Massachusetts, formed an organization SWEAR— Stand with Everyone against Rape. They have been educating teenage boys in high schools on the myths, stereotypes, and repercussions of sexual assault.
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