The Association of American Universities released one of the largest campus sexual assault surveys of its kind on Sept. 21, 2015. Around 150,000 students at over 27 different colleges contributed to the survey, including many of the nation’s top schools.
The survey found that 27.2 percent of female college seniors reported experiencing some kind of unwanted sexual contact by force or incapacitation (usually drugs or alcohol) since entering college, and 13.5 percent experienced penetration, attempted penetration, or oral sex. Rates of sexual assault were lower among men (8.6 percent) and higher among transgender students.
Furthermore, the survey found that three-fourths of victims did not report the assault to law enforcement or authority figures due to fears of not being taken seriously, feelings of shame, and feeling the assault wasn’t serious enough to report.
Colleges across the country have become more diligent with publishing crime reports and putting systems in place to address campus sexual assault over the last few years. Most of the survey participants released their institution’s figures from the study, according to the New York Times, even when those figures were higher than the survey’s average. Some of the highest reported figures came from Yale (34.6 percent), the University of Michigan (34.3 percent), and Harvard (29.2 percent). Yale’s president, Peter Salovey, said the survey’s findings were “profoundly troubling.”
This issue has also garnered lots of media attention as students are speaking up about their experiences. One of the most recent examples is the dispute between Emma Sulkowicz and Paul Nungesser at Colombia University. Sulkowicz said Nungesser had “raped her during what had until that point been a consensual encounter at the start of their sophomore year,” according to the New York Times. Sulkowicz notably carried her mattress around campus for the entirety of her senior year as both a protest and performance art thesis called “Mattress Performance (Carry That Weight)”. Colombia has since cleared Nungesser of responsibility following an investigation and hearing.
Wayne State University reports, on average, less than 10 accounts of sexual assault every year. The Wayne State University Police Department has many resources to protect and educate the student body. WSUPD has a list of campus safety tips and emergency resources on its website. The department also offers monthly Rape Aggression Defense classes (R.A.D.) for $20 to all students, staff, faculty, and alumni.
The 2015-16 school year marks the first time Wayne State incorporated “No Zebras. No Excuses.” into the new student orientation. “No Zebras” is a “survivor-centered, perpetrator-focused Bystander Intervention program… which uses vignettes of violence and educators paired with each scene to highlight valuable information and, more importantly, what can be done about what the audience saw,” according to the program’s website.
Kajun Lloyd, a senior gender, sexuality, and women’s studies major, said she thinks the university needs to be more proactive in educating the student body because there are most likely many unreported cases of sexual assault.
“I think No Zebras is a great start to the conversation of sexual harassment/assault and I am so proud that WSU took the initiative to educate our incoming students concerning this issue,” said Lloyd. “However, the conversation needs to continue throughout the year with more events and educational programming. So I would like to see events like No Zebras at least three to four times a year and the promotion of reporting these incidents.”
Lloyd believes the best way to address these issues is to maintain a dialogue about sexual assault and keep the campus alert. Lloyd also informed me of an event that Wayne State’s chapter of the American Association of University Women is promoting. The Warrior Women Coalition is holding events around the campus during the week of Halloween to promote awareness and discussions about sexual assault and harassment.
“We are hoping to raise awareness, spark conversation, cultivate a sense of safe space and community and empower and educate,” said the organization.
The AAU survey proves that campus sexual assault is an issue across the nation, and schools, students, staff, and communities need to be proactive in implementing awareness of the issues as well as resources for the victims.
