sexAssault020609Center
Despite combined efforts from Virginia Tech and local police to combat sexual assault and promote reporting of incidents, many student cases of sexual assault at Tech and around Blacksburg go unreported.
According to a 2005 report released from the National Institute of Justice and the Department of Justice, "Sexual Assault on Campus: What Colleges and Universities Are Doing About It," approximately 35 of every 1,000 female college students are a victim of sexual assault each year. With 10,048 female undergraduate students, Tech could anticipate about 352 sexual assaults over the course of a school year.
However, Tech's statistics are drastically lower than the report's numbers would suggest. According to statistics in Tech's Clery Act report, 22 sexual assaults have been reported from 2005 to 2007. From 2006 to 2007, there was a 73 percent drop in reported sexual assaults, from 11 to three reported cases.
This could be explained in two ways. One explanation is that Tech is so successful at preventing sexual assault that it is shattering national averages and historical data. The other, likelier, option is that there are a large number of unreported sexual assault cases at Tech.
Some of the more common reasons sexual assault victims in the university setting do not report their cases include a prior knowledge of their assailant and consumption of alcohol before their assault.
According to the same report, between 80 percent and 90 percent of victims of sexual assault knew their offender. Additionally, half of the student victims do not label the incident "rape."
"People don't consider something as a sexual assault since it was a friend who did it to them," said Christine Smith, co-director of services for The Women's Center at Virginia Tech.
The consumption of alcohol can also lead to confusion among those victimized by sexual assault.
"People say, 'I won't say anything, I was drinking, I made that decision to drink therefore game-off in terms of someone sexually assaulting me,'" said Meghan Weyrens Kuhn, judicial coordinator for Judicial Affairs. "You have to understand you have to give consent; there has to be consent for everything."
Others compared giving consent to entering into a civil contract.
"You can't enter a civil contract while you're intoxicated. Consent while a person is intoxicated isn't valid," said Geof Allen, community outreach officer for Virginia Tech Police Department.
Another factor in the equation is that a student may have been illegally drinking when the sexual assault was experienced.
"Sometimes people don't come forward because they were drinking and they're concerned they'll get in trouble; that's not the case," Smith said. "The university looks at the higher crime, but sometimes people are still fearful of that."
While women are statistically more likely to be victims of sexual assault, men are also victimized by sexual assault. For male victims, reporting what happened can be a very daunting challenge.
"It's even less likely that they will report it. It's the stigma that if they're sexually assaulted -- typically we hear women have been sexually assaulted -- so if a man is sexually assaulted what does that mean?" Kuhn said. "There's more (instances of a male) victim blaming on themselves for something like that happening. That's a population we'd like to see more come forward or at least get some support and help."
The lack of reported cases is worrisome for officials such as Kuhn.
"We know it's happening at our college campuses," Kuhn said. "We know statistically that one in four women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, and sexual assaults occur between the ages of 16 and 24, and so when you think about that, it's the ages when students are usually on college campuses."
The lack of reporting also makes it harder to pursue those committing the offenses.
"We want them (those committing sexual assault) to be held accountable for their behavior, and we want to make our communities safer," Kuhn said.
Beyond nationwide issues, however, is at least one troubling possibility. Some posit that the recent drop in reporting could be related to the events of April 16, 2007.
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"likelier" ?... seriosuly?
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Likely is one of the adjectives that has two acceptable forms of comparison. Likelier and more likely. Good try though.
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"You can't enter a civil contract while you're intoxicated. Consent while a person is intoxicated isn't valid," said Geof Allen, community outreach officer for Virginia Tech Police Department. " --So you're saying every time someone has sex when they are drunk, both parties are being raped? I think this article fails to bring lite to the fact that men can be victims as well...Yea I know, just like the 16 year old boys getting "raped" by their hot female teachers...
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As a guy, I feel I have been taken advantage of sexually a few times in the past when drunk. If a fat chick gets a guy drunk enough to the point where he is willing to have sex with her, is that a case of sexual assault? He would not have sex with her sober, but with beer goggles on his judgment is impaired. If so, Can I go to the office of judicial affairs and try to get a fatty kicked out of school because I feel she sexually assaulted me? I feel this type of abuse goes the most under reported.
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Kudos to the CT for writing this article. Double kudos to Officer Allen of the VTPD for noting that it would be better for all sexual assaults to be reported to the police instead of just going to the judicial system, which is mostly a farce that does not actually serve justice. Remember, if you are the victim of a sexual assault, and you take it only to the judicial system and not the criminal system, your assailant's crimes if convicted will be kept secret and he/she will likely receive a slap on the wrist, which could be a semester suspension for example. Then he/she will be sitting next to you in class, on the BT or in the dining halls once again and there's nothing you can do about it. The judicial system should be abolished. It is only a way for the university to keep the prevalence of crimes a secret and for students who commit crimes to escape real responsibility for their actions.
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Officer Allen is absolutely right, you can't make a decision when you are drunk. So when you get drunk and ram a school bus with your car, you won't be charged because you were incapable of making that decision. If you are drunk when you register for classes, an F won't count against your grade because you weren't capable of making a decision about taking that class. It's just common sense, so Kudos to you, Officer Alan, and Kudos to all the brave women who ruin peoples' lives over this. And I wonder what other social interactions are now going to be governed by contract law? Will Jimmy John's have to stop selling sandwiches to drunk people? Will it be illegal to add a facebook friend while drunk? I'm all ears, Officer Allen. Or we could just accept responsibility for what we do. We all make mistakes and we don't get to go to court and make other people pay for them. Geof Allen is a moron. Our legal system is full of morons. God help us.
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Wow, you should like a really caring, sensitive, mature person, hokienomics.
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Male-on-male sex needs more attention....
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The prevalence of male-on-male sexual victimization requires greater attention from college/university and law enforcement authorities. It is no secret that MSM sex is common among male students across the countey, evem by self-identified "straight" males. But the sexual victimization of males by other males, either by force, coercion, intimidation, or through diminished capacity is virtually unrecognized and very under-reported. Greater focus by authorities is required so that these very real crime victims will feel free to come forward and report these crimes.
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Yea, I think we should all have to breathalize test our dates, and if they score over something on it then your not allowed to have sex with them....then they rape you and its all good because they were drunk and you were sober....and now the sober one is the one in jail for raping the poor drunk person. and if you are gay...what if you don't know if the other person is or not..I think if you are even contemplaiting being gay or bi then you should have to wear a start of David or something right? or we can just send all those ppl to camps, that sounds even better.
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I find it sad and scary that so many cynical comments are being posted in response to this article. I wonder if these people have mothers, sisters, aunts, or girlfriends and if they would be as cynical if someone took advantage of their loved one. Obviously, being taken advantage of sexually has been and is currently a problem on college campuses nationwide, but not until recent years have governing bodies attentively listened to victims. We should appreciate that the Collegiate Times has run this article and is trying to raise awareness. Consider your motives and thoughts and think twice!
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If your roofied then you can go to the police, if you drank too much and just didn't know when to stop....there's a good life lesson, take less drinks from fat chicks.
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Well, it sounds like concealed carry is the answer here too.
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hokienomics, you are exactly the type of male who insures that men will always be assumed wrong in any case of sexual conduct. You have to have sex with girls to prove to yourself that you actually are straight and it is sad.
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