In 2015, the average of surveys conducted by the Journal of Adolescent Health, the Post-Kaiser Family Foundation Poll, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey and others reported that about 20 percent of women were raped or experienced some form of sexual assault throughout the course of their college experience.
This means that about 1 in 5 women are likely to be sexually assaulted while attending college. However, according to the Clery Act and the American Association of University Women, 91 percent of colleges have reported zero incidents of rape or sexual assault.
In the U.S., the second most common insurance claim relating to campuses is sexual assault – partially explaining why only 9 percent of colleges report these crimes.
Aside from the victims who are afraid, embarrassed or intimidated to stay quiet, other victims may be facing different obstacles while attempting to identify the perpetrator and report the crime.
Because insurance claims are so high, rape reports are rumored to be stifled by college administrations for fear of losing funding, rankings or their reputation. The insensitivity of many college administrations often leave many victims feeling abandoned.
So how do we combat a financial structure that hides a serious problem on our college campuses? If an institution is found to be falsifying reports, underreporting or intimidating possible victims, the penalties should be so harsh that on balance it would be too risky for the college to engage in covering up any possible sexual assault. We cannot rely on local law enforcement or college administrations to self-police, as incentives to conceal sexual assault often exceed merely the university itself. For instance, local businesses and boosters may seek to protect star athletes accused of sexual assault.
Unfortunately, the knife can cut both ways as star athletes can also be an attractive target for sexual-assault claims. For example, the sexual-assault accusation at Duke University in 2006 elucidates how sexual assault claims can be used for personal or political gain. Although this is also an issue, it’s estimated by the FBI that only about 2 percent of reported sexual assault accusations are proved to be false.
It should be acknowledged that within this 2 percent, rape accusations can be seen as provably false in the eyes of a court – meaning that within said case there was not enough evidence to convict the accused. In short, this does not necessarily mean that a sexual assault did not occur, just that there was insufficient evidence.
Sexual assault is a problem for most college campuses, regardless of the college’s self-reporting or lack thereof. To shine a bright light on this issue, we need a more vigorous federal investigative body to aid both victims of sexual assault and falsely accused victims. Moreover, if a university is found to be complicit in covering-up sexual assaults on its campus, harsh penalties should be imposed.
On most college campuses, disciplinary panels are established to handle sexual-assault reporting. These panels, however, consist of administrators, faculty volunteers or even students as opposed to being run by a proper court and jury system. With these panels, it is far more likely for a student who committed sexual assault to be given the same amount of reprimand as someone who may have plagiarized a paper, all due to bias against self-reporting and the possibility of losing funding.
The Campus Accountability and Safety Act 2015 was introduced almost a year ago to address many of these concerns. The bill appears to be stuck in committee, but if passed will help institutions of higher learning to receive funding to improve training and hire additional staff to provide assistance to sexual-assault victims. Perhaps more importantly, it will allow the Secretary of the Department of Education or The Department of Justice to impose civil penalties on universities that fail to adhere to the new requirements.
Even if the act is eventually passed and signed by the president, students and parents need to remain vigilant and hold their universities accountable. Presently, only complaints under Title IX have been effective in promoting change on our campuses.
No one – woman or man – should ever be made to feel scared, embarrassed or intimidated to report a sexual assault.
Caroline Sitter is news editor at El Diablo, the Durango High School student newspaper. Her parents are Doug and Suzanne Sitter of Durango.
