The Rise of Sexual Assault on campus

The topic for the second project is to research why sexual assault on our campus is a concern. Why is sexual assault so prevalent? Are the assaults reported?  How is the safety at UNCW? How has our nation and other universities addressed this problem? How can UNCW stay a safe and reputable school?

This blog is to address college students, parents and staff that there is information available to address sexual assault on campuses. The credibility of the research available has been tested by many researchers so that it is believable.  Their viewpoint and true accounts helps researchers provide statistics and documentaries to challenge the reform on campuses.  Sexual assaults is rapidly increasing and anyone can be a victim. Our culture allows this behavior to exist and we need to be the ones to STOP it.

What Research is out there?


Colleges across the nation have had many instances of victimization.   Why is this an increasing problem?  Most universities are aware of the problems but are unsure how to address the issues. The Federal Government has implemented a report issued by the Obama Administration addressing these problems. University safety is a top priority and has created a wave of sources that will help guide schools in protecting students.


In a 2015 article in the News and Observer,  Jane Stancill states:

" The film, called The Hunting Ground  tells the stories of women who experienced sexual assault, became activists and gave voice to a national movement. She goes on to say that the Federal Government has prompted investigations at many schools including the cases at UNC-Chapel Hill."

How can schools reform their policies? Students need to feel assured their voice is being heard. Programs that offer education on assaults, schools mandating classes to increase awareness, and police taking every effort to report any information.

President Obama signed the Violence against Women Act (VAWA) in 2012 in response to the violence in this nation. In a recent blog, Sexual Assault Statistics  President Obama addresses the nation to end the violence.
 There are many impacts that sexual assault has on the victims including (www.rainn.org):

• Physical- Headaches, Difficulty in sleeping, Sore body
• Emotional-  Guilt, PTSD which leads to suicide, Depression
• Psychological- Increase in substance abuse, Pregnancy
• Life threatening- Sexually Transmitted Diseases, Beaten badly

.

Why are sexual assaults unreported or limited?

 Could the reasons listed below be the result of fear?

• The victim knows the assailant .
• The victim will feel shame by exposing the crime.
• The police and school officials undermine the situation.
• Victim fears that exposure will lead to future victimization.

In recent years, sexual assaults have risen due to changes in the requirements of the reports. There are many campuses that have "blind reports" on their police logs. Essentially, "blind reports" are noting that assaults happen but do not include details. The when, where, and the who. This affects the statistics and places a biased image on what really happens on campuses. When these assaults happen and the victim tries to put their life back together, its hard to live a normal life.

In the 1999 book Policing Sexual Assault,
 

Gregory allows the reader to see why there is little protection for women of sexual assaults but also how police practices plays a part in many reforms. She quotes Faizey's Let down by the Law, "when women were asked why they did not report, they said they feared an unsympathetic response from the police and had little faith in the judicial system." (Faizey, 1994)

What is the probability that assaults will decline because of the awareness? Is this trend going to ignite a nationwide reform? In order to feel safe at school, the school must provide services to protect students but also encourage an open door policy. The Schools are reforming guidelines as we speak and reports show an increase in assaults. What are the guidelines in the policy? The policy mandated by the government in Section Title IX requires there is no violation in sexual conduct.  The increase is because of requirements set in place and students gaining awareness on when and how to report the crime. This is beneficial to the campuses and it makes me feel safe to know that schools care about the student's safety.

How is the Safety at UNCW?

At UNCW, there is a program called CARE (Collaboration for Assault Response and Education). This program is to educate students about assaults, any abuse, harassment, and stalking. The UNCW Police and the Counseling Center are also confidential avenues to report incidents. UNCW also has an affiliation to off-campus programs such as the Rape Crisis Center and Domestic Violence Shelter. The University Police has an Annual Security Report that documents any police report on school. There is only one problem with this and it is anonymous. The victim hasn't actually stepped forward and reported the assault. Since the report is public knowledge, students can access the data and see where we rank as a school.

In a story told by Ann McAdams of Wect 6 she interviewed UNCW Chief of Police David Donaldson.

Donaldson stated " The number of forcible sexual assaults tripled from 3 in 2012 to 9 in 2013 but the assaults are attributed to the increase to new reporting requirements and not an upswing in assaults."

The program and reports implemented by UNCW shows me there is a big concern on addressing this nationwide problem.  However, the assaults do not show they are gender based. In the Safety First blog, I would like to correlate the sexual assaults with the probability of male and female assaults. I can only assume that females are more likely to be assaulted. UNCW is taking every effort to provide security reports and safety precautions on school grounds.

How is this research beneficial?

The research gained allowed me to see that sexual assaults on campuses is a prevalent problem. It is increasing at high rate. The government has stepped in to address campuses to offer programs to educate and eradicate the assaults.  I would like to see what statistics are out there on this issue and how men and women vary in being assaulted. Most assaults happen with the victim and offender knowing each other. Since this is usually the case, this increases an unreported crime. UNCW is taking every effort to implement these policy changes. Also since I am a student at UNCW, I know that the police are encouraging reporting of the crime. Even though it seems the numbers have gone up, it is only affected because more are stepping forward and voicing the assault. This school can stay safe by the police effectively making reports and the students coming forward to address the incident at hand. We cant protect the violator anymore...We must take a stand!

References

Faizey, M. (1994). Gaurdian, Let down by the Law. pp. 6.

Gregory, Jeanne; Lees, Sue. (1999) Policing Sexual Assault. Routledge.

McAdams, Ann. (2013, Jun 3) Sexual Assault reporting increases at UNCW   http://www.wect.com/story/22487252/sex-assault-reporting-increases-at-uncw

RAINN. (2009) RAINN (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.Effects of Sexual Assault.Retrieved from http://rainn.org



Stancill, Jane. (2015, Feb) New documentary explores sexual assault at UNC. News and Observer. 

UNCW. www.uncw.edu.  CARE, Annual  Security Report