Campus Sexual Assault and Harassment - Marcella Nelson

Campus Sexual Assault and Harassment

Campus sexual assault is defined as, "the sexual assault of a student attending an institution of higher learning." A definition could never do justice to the extent in which one is effected by a violation of this magnitude. Campus sexual assaults occur in what one would view as a safe environment, by a peer or peers, leading to one feeling unsafe in the pursuit of their education.

Campus Sexual Assault and Harassment Prevalence

Sexual assaults have long been an issue on campuses across the United States. However, these issues are frequently covered up or swept under the rug to protect the image of the campus and too often the assaulter. In 1957, sociologists Clifford Kirkpatrick and Eugene Kanin published the article "Male Sex Aggression on a University Campus." They were "prompted by some case material reporting instances of violent male aggression with reluctance on the part of the offended girls to invoke protection and punishment." The team surveyed 291 women on one campus and found that they had experienced over a thousand "offensive episodes." In the 1980’s Mary P. Koss and colleagues conducted the "Sexual Experience Survey." In 1987, they published findings of a national survey of over six thousand college students from multiple campuses. "They found that 27.5 percent of college women reported experiencing rape or attempted rape since the age of fourteen." Between 2005 and 2007, the "Campus Sexual Assault Study" was conducted, "in total, 6,800 undergraduate students at two large public universities were surveyed and 19 percent, or nearly one-fifth, of the female participants reported having experienced attempted or completed sexual assault since entering college."

The documentary film The Hunting Ground is an expose of sexual assault on campuses across the United States. In the film it is stated that "one in five women are assaulted while attending college." In 2015 "more than 16% of college women are sexually assaulted while in college." "88% of women sexually assaulted on campus do not report." Take a second to think about how much higher that 16% statistic would be, had every woman reported their sexual assault. The film was released in 2015, at that time it was stated that, if nothing changed more than 100,000 college students would be assaulted the following year. That is a staggering number, and two years later not much has changed, as a female college student I'm desperate for progress on this issue.

Campus Rape Culture

An important factor that must be highlighted is campus rape culture. "The acceptance of rape myths among male and female college students found that males were more likely to support dangerous rape myths that include the idea that one cannot be raped by a person that one knows, that a rape only occurs when someone has a weapon, and that nice women don't get raped, among others." The ignorance involved in these ideas along with acceptance of rape myths, has lead to victim blaming, has restricted defining rape, and contributes to sexist attitudes against women. "A 1987 study found that 79 percent of a sample of college men thought that raping a woman was justifiable if the woman was perceived as being "loose"."

On September 22, 2017 Betsy DeVos moved to rescind the Obama era guidelines on campus sexual assault. In doing so, reporting will now be more difficult as will proving the occurrence of assault itself. Janet Napolitano stated the change would "in effect, weaken sexual violence protections, prompt confusion among campuses about how best to respond to reports of sexual violence and sexual harassment, and unravel the progress that so many schools have made." With all of these statistics and information widely available, it is extremely concerning that the female Secretary of Education has moved to make reporting and convicting more difficult for the victims of sexual assault. 

My Story

I am passionate about this issue because I was sexually harassed two years ago on the Pasadena City College campus. I was left with the difficult decision of whether or not to report the harassment. This decision often leads to fear, anxiety, and guilt, large reasons why many assaults and harassments go unreported. In my case, I chose to take a stand and report the harassment to the college. I went through a very long process, in which I had to relive and retell the story to multiple strangers over and over again. This was not an easy time in my life, but after many tears and much persistence I knew I had made the right decision. I wanted to ensure my harasser was taught a lesson, and I would do anything in my power to ensure he wouldn't treat another woman this way.

I decided to do my civic engagement project on the topic of campus sexual assault and harassment in order to shed light on this subject. I want other women who have experienced this difficult situation to know they are not alone. These women should know they have nothing to be ashamed of, and they did nothing to deserve this despicable treatment. If I can help even one person by sharing these experiences or educate someone on the topic, then this project is more than worthwhile.

Survivors

T. Thoen

V. Aguilar

O. Tilliard 

References

• Germain, Lauren J.. Campus Sexual Assault : College Women Respond, Johns Hopkins University Press, 2016. ProQuest Ebook Central, https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/csla/detail.action?docID=4398494.

• Ziering, Amy, and Kirby Dick. The Hunting Ground. The Hunting Ground, 23 Jan. 2015, thehuntinggroundfilm.com.

• Taylor, Stephanie Saul And Kate. “Betsy DeVos Reverses Obama-Era Policy on Campus Sexual Assault Investigations.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 Sept. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/09/22/us/devos-colleges-sex-assault.html.