When speaking out against the silence on campus sexual assault, Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States, is quoted by saying, “You don’t want to be a school that mishandles rape. Guess what? Step up. It’s time” (Gillibrand, K. et al 2014). Here, the Vice President of the United States exposes colleges and universities across the nation. He insists that they are not taking rape accusations seriously, and he urges them to make a change. This idea that colleges tend to value their reputation over victims is a common occurrence throughout both The Hunting Ground and Jon Krakauer’s Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town. Both of these texts successfully demonstrate that sexual assault on college campuses is common. And more disappointingly so, it is also typical for colleges and universities across the nation to ignore this epidemic. And they are not alone— local precincts in college towns are also known to mishandle rape allegations.
As college students are a subpopulation that have an elevated risk for sexual assault,
The Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) study was created (Krebs et al 2007). The CSA, a series of surveys given to college aged women taking place between January 2005 to December 2007, asked various questions about their experiences with sexual assault in college (Krebs et al 2007). This study revealed some startling statistics. For example, one out of five undergraduate women experience an attempted or completed sexual assault during their college years (Krebs et al 2007). Twenty percent of college women will be sexually assaulted while at college (Krebs et al). This number is far too large and needs to be lowered. There needs to be change.
Typically, in college, rape does not happen by walking late at night and being attacked by a stranger that was hiding in the bushes. As there is a possibility that does happen, sexual assault in college typically occurs between acquaintances. Most women know their assailant (White House Council on Women and Girls, 2014). Most college victims are assaulted by someone they know— 9 in 10 victims of rape and sexual assault knew their offender (Fisher, Cullen Turner, 2000). Usually drinking is involved, and the female is unconscious, sleeping, or drunk, and under law is thus unable to consent. As the Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) study shows, most victims of physically forced or incapacitated sexual assault were assaulted by someone they knew— 79% and 88% respectively (Krebs et al 2007). I find this very plausible, especially when excessive alcohol is consumed. In schools across the nation, there needs to be more talk about appropriate consent and the definition of rape.
Despite these shocking statistics, many colleges are failing to report incidents of sexual assaults on campus. 91% of colleges in 2014 reported zero incidents of rape on campus. (The Hunting Ground). Interestingly enough, 95% of college presidents say the administration handles sexual assault claims responsibly; however, 100 colleges are under federal investigation for the way they report sexual assault (The Hunting Ground). Unfortunately, colleges tend to care more about their reputation than the safety of their students. Rarely to colleges seem to care about the appropriate punishment of rapists.
Not only do colleges tend to cover up rape allegations, but local precincts also often fail to press charges. While reading Missoula, I came across a page that really struck me. It stated that:
After a victim has reported a crime to the police, many people believe that the decision whether or not to charge the suspect with a crime, and then prosecute the suspect, is the prerogative of the victim. News media often contribute to this misconception in stories about rape victims by reporting that a victim “declined to press charges.” In fact, the criminal justice system gives victims no direct say in the matter. It’s the police, for the most part, who decide whether a suspect should be arrested, and prosecutors who ultimately determine whether a conviction should be pursued. (Krakauer, J. p. 86).
Many local precincts in college towns fail to press charges. As the film, The Hunting Ground, showed, many accused rapists are collegiate athletes. The film explained although less than 4% of men are student athletes in college, this small percentage commits 19% of sexual assaults (The Hunting Ground). I found this part of the film interesting because I asked male friends who were talking about Fantasy Football if they knew who Jameis Winston was. They said “yeah I think he plays for Tampa Bay” I then asked them if they knew he was accused of rape during his time playing for Florida State. They said that they were aware but thought “the girl dropped the charges.” After watching The Hunting Grounds, it became clear to me that the victim did not drop the charges. She wanted to press charges; however, the Tallahassee police are responsible for letting Winston off. I cannot blame my friends for not knowing the truth—I was not aware either before watching The Hunting Grounds. After watching the film and reading Missoula, I came to the realization that often times, especially due to the way that the media reports it, it seems as if the victim dropped the charges. The headlines make it seem like the female recanted, perhaps implying that she made up the accusation. But most times, the police or the district attorney’s office dropped the case because they do not think its worth it. Or because it is a he said she said case, they insist that there is not enough evidence (Krakauer, J. p. 86). Potentially, the accused could be a successful athlete and no one wants to be responsible for ruining his career. Either way, colleges and local police need to protect victims instead of protecting their beloved athletes or their reputation.
The conversation needs to change, or rather there needs to be a conversation. No one likes to talk about it, but it does happen. Rape is an enormous problem, but so is the way officials and administrations handle rape. Often times a rape victim will be discouraged from reporting or pressing charges for his or her assault due to the questions that are asked. Through Missoula, one recurring theme that I noticed was the absurd questions detectives were asking the survivors. For example, they often asked the female victim if she had a boyfriend—insinuating that perhaps she got drunk, cheated on her boyfriend, woke up and regretted it and then, consequentially, “cried rape.” Law enforcement has a tendency to not believe sexual assault victims and this creates an unwelcoming place. Only about five percent of sexual assaults on college campuses are reported (White House Council on Women and Girls, 2014). People that have been sexually assaulted often avoid telling anyone or pressing charges due to intense victim blaming. Often times detectives or police officers make accusations towards the victim while they should be making them towards the offender. I feel that often times the detectives and police officers investigate the victim more than they do the perpetrator. Colleges and police precincts need to make it clear that the victim is safe and will not be judged. A more welcoming place will allow more victims to come forward, and hopefully then the problem will be addressed more appropriately.
The lack of punishment is the one of the main roots of campus sexual assault. Most assaults are caused by repeat offenders as campus predators are often serial perpetrators (The Hunting Ground). Less than 8% of men commit over 90% of sexual assaults (The Hunting Ground). Repeat offenders commit on average six sexual assaults (The Hunting Ground). Offenders who are not punished will continue to assault until they are stopped. There needs to be appropriate punishment in order to deter rapists from raping.
Colleges and universities across the nation need to take rape seriously. These institutes need to investigate rape allegations and prosecute offenders when necessary. If nothing changes, over 100,000 students will be sexually assaulted in the next year (The Hunting Ground). There needs to be a change, and it starts with college administrations and local precincts.