Campus Sexual Assault
Sexual violence is any act (verbal and/or physical) which breaks a person's trust and/or safety and is sexual in nature. The term "Sexual Violence" includes: rape, date/acquaintance rape, incest, child sexual assault, ritual abuse, marital or partner rape, sexual harassment, exposure, and voyeurism. Sexual assaults are acts of violence where sex is used as the weapon. Victims/survivors of sexual violence are forced, coerced and/or manipulated to participate in unwanted sexual activity.
Sexual assault on college and university campuses is occurring at an alarming rate. The majority of these are date/acquaintance rapes perpetrated against women by men. Date/acquaintance rapists often believe myths such as: women owe men sex if they spend money on her; some women play hard to get and say no when they mean yes; and women enjoy being pursued by an aggressive male. Additionally, alcohol and drugs as well as gendered communication may be factors in these sexual assaults. Regardless, it is NEVER the victim/survivor's fault no matter what she wore, where she was, whether or not she fought back, or whether or not she and the perpetrator were drinking. Perpetrators are 100% responsible for their actions.
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
- The most vulnerable population for campus rape are freshman girls during the first few months of school. Many of these girls were virgins before they were raped. (Neimark, Jill. Out of Bounds, the Truth About Athletes and Rape. Interactivetheater.org, 2000.)
- 1 out of 6 college women have been raped or have been the victim of an attempted rape during the past year. (Weitzman, E., DeJong, W., and Finn, P. Alcohol and Acquaintance Rape: Strategies to Protect Yourself and Each Other. The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. U.S. Department of Education, 1999.)
- 1 out of 15 male students raped or attempted to rape a woman during the past year. (Weitzman, E., DeJong, W., and Finn, P. Alcohol and Acquaintance Rape: Strategies to Protect Yourself and Each Other. The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. U.S. Department of Education, 1999.)
- 14% of all sexual assaults occur to someone between the ages of 18-24. (Sexual Assault of Young Children as Reported to Law Enforcement: Victim, Incident, and Offender Characteristics. U.S. Department of Justice, 2000.)
- 7 out of 10 rape or sexual assault victims knew their attacker. (Rennison, Calli M. Criminal Victimization 1998: Changes 1997-1998 with Trends 1993-1998. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1999.)
- Approximately 22% of victims are raped by intimates such as husbands or boyfriends, 47% by acquaintances, and 2 % by other relatives. (Criminal Victimization in 1999: Changes 1998-1999, with trends 1993-1999. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, August, 2000.)
- Only 12% of undergraduate women whose experiences fit the definition of rape, identified themselves as rape victims. (Schwartz, M., Leggett, M. Bad Dates or Emotional Trauma- the Aftermath of Campus Sexual Assault. Violence Against Women, Vol. 5, No. 3, March, 1999.)
- 1/4 of all college-age rape victims blame themselves entirely for the attack. (Schwartz, M., Leggett, M. Bad Dates or Emotional Trauma- the Aftermath of Campus Sexual Assault. Violence Against Women, Vol. 5, No. 3, March, 1999.)
- Only 5% of undergraduate women reported their sexual assault to police. (Schwartz, M., Leggett, M. Bad Dates or Emotional Trauma- the Aftermath of Campus Sexual Assault. Violence Against Women, Vol. 5, No. 3, March, 1999.)
- The U.S. Congress General Accounting Office found that 23 out of the 25 colleges it audited did not properly report their crime statistics, particularly incidents involving rape and assaults. (Leinwand, D. Campus Crime Underreported: Colleges Have Been Caught Misreporting Violence Statistics. Now, an Upgraded Law Penalizes $25,000 for Each Wrong Figure. USA Today, 2000.)
- 95% of college-age women reported being affected in some way by their sexual assault, with 12% being deeply affected. (Schwartz, M., Leggett, M. Bad Dates or Emotional Trauma-the Aftermath of Campus Sexual Assault. Violence Against Women, Vol. 5, No. 3, March, 1999.)
- 75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in date rape had been drinking or using drugs at the time. (Koss, M.P. 1998. Hidden Rape: Incident, Prevalence, and Descriptive Characteristics of Sexual Aggression and Victimization in a National Sample of College Students. Rape and Sexual Assault, Vol. II. edited by A.W. Burgess. New York: Garland Publishing Company.)
- Analysis of a sample of urine drug tests of sexual assault victims demonstrated that alcohol was present in 63% of the victims, marijuana was present in 30% of the victims and "date rape" drugs such as GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate) and Rohypnol were present in about 3% of positive samples. (Slaughter, L. Involvement of Drugs in Sexual Assaults. Journal of Reproductive Medicine. Vol. 45. 2000.)
- 84% of men whose actions matched the legal definition of rape, said that what they did was definitely not rape. (Koss, M.P. 1998. Hidden Rape: Incident, Prevalence, and Descriptive Characteristics of Sexual Aggression and Victimization in a National Sample of College Students. Rape and Sexual Assault, Vol. II. edited by A.W. Burgess. New York: Garland Publishing Company.)
- When surveyed, fraternity men were much more likely than non-fraternity members to report that they believed that women enjoy physical roughness, secretly desire to be raped, and enjoy being forced into sex. (Boeringer, S.B. Associations of Rape- Supportive Attitudes with Fraternal and Athletic Participation. Violence Against Women, 1999.)
- Gang rapes on campus are most often perpetrated by men who participate in intensive male peer groups (such as fraternities or athletic teams) that foster rape supportive behaviors and attitudes. (Sexual Assault and Alcohol and Other Drug Use. The Higher Education Center for Alcohol and other Drug Prevention. U.S. Department of Education. June, 1998.)
- There were 33 reported sexual assaults on the UW-Madison campus in 1999. In 24 of the 33 cases reported, the assailants were known to the victims. 21 of these occurred in either the residence of the victim or the assailant. Alcohol had been consumed by at least one of the parties in 25 of the 33 assaults. (Garza, Yolanda. Sexual Assault Awareness Events Planned. News @ UW-Madison, 2000.)
# In a study of college students, 35% of men indicated some likelihood that they would commit a violent rape of a woman who had fended off an advance if they were assured of getting away with it. (Kilpatrick, D.G., Edmunds, C.N., and Seymour, A. 1992. Rape in America: A Report to the Nation. Arlington, VA: National Victim Center.)
"Date Rape" Drugs on Campus:
In recent years drug-facilitated rape has become a growing concern, especially on college campuses. The number of cases has increased ten-fold over the past decade, and since 1995 at least 63 people have died from GHB (Gamma Hydroxybutyrate) related overdoses. Rohypnol and GHB (as well as most other drugs used to facilitate date rape) can be produced in forms that dissolve quickly and are often colorless, odorless, and tasteless. As a result, victims often ingest it unknowingly, usually after a perpetrator has slipped it into an unattended drink. These drugs are so powerful that they can render the victim unconscious or helpless, and create an amnesia-effect so that the victim is uncertain as to whether or not they have been a victim of sexual assault. (Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States. Fact Sheet- Drug Facilitated Sexual Assaults. 28 April, 2000.)
How to reduce your risk of being drugged and sexually assaulted:
- Limit alcohol consumption so you are better able to assess your surroundings.
- Do not leave beverages unattended.
- Do not take beverages, including alcohol from someone you do not know well and trust.
- At a bar or club accept drinks only from the bartender or server.
- At parties do not accept open-container drinks from anyone.
- Go out with friends, and make sure that you are watching out for each other.
How to tell that you might have been drugged:
- Acting extremely intoxicated after consuming no alcohol, or only a small amount of alcohol.
- Impaired judgement
- Disinhibition
- Dizziness
- Confusion
- Sudden/unexplained drowsiness
- Trouble with coordination
This information sheet was compiled in 2000 by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA). WCASA is a membership organization of sexual assault centers, other organizations, and individuals throughout Wisconsin working to end sexual violence. For information sheets on other topics or to become a member, contact WCASA 600 Williamson St., Suite N-2, Madison, WI 53703, (608)257-1516, www.wcasa.org. For more information about sexual assault or to receive support with a sexual assault experience, contact your local sexual assault program. This sheet may be reproduced in its original format only.
