Sexual Assault on campus

Sexual assault and harassment are an ongoing problem in college campus’s across the nation, but not many people realize this. It is estimated that the percentage of sexual assault victimization among women in higher education institutions is roughly around 20% to 25% over the course of their college career. In a survey of 1,000 female students conducted in 2004 at the University of Kentucky, it was found that 36% had been victims of stalking, physical or sexual assault. These numbered have decreased in recent years due to programs such as Green Dot, advocating the prevention of violence and harassment among men and women. According to a recent article posted on the Washington Post, the number of federal investigations into how colleges handle sexual violence reports has jumped 50% in the last 6 months; this is due to the higher number of colleges reporting sexual assaults. This suggests that more victims are coming forward. Seeing higher numbers in annual crime reports for sexual violence means the campus is “breaking the culture of silence”, said Alison Kiss, executive director of the Clery Center for Security on Campus. The Obama administration has also taken action by announcing the publication of the final rule implementing changes made to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act by the VAWA. "These new rules require institutions to ensure that students and employees have vital information about crime on campus and the services and protections available to victims if a crime does occur, which will be significant assets in addressing the growing problem of sexual assault, domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking on our nations’s campuses.” said Anre Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education.

Some suggested tips for preventing sexual assault at parties include:

• stick with your friends
• hold on to you drink & if its ever out of sight get a new one
• don’t share drinks
• make sure you always have a ride home or someone to walk with that is sober
• always keep your cellphone charged and on you
• trust your instincts

Source:

Kingkade, Tyler. "Colleges Are Reporting More Sexual Assaults, And That's A Great Sign." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 12 Oct. 2014. Web. 20 Oct. 2014.