2008 Woodie Awards
Letter: Colleges not open enough about campus sex crimes
Issue date: 12/8/06 Section: Opinion
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To the editor:
Sexual assault on college campuses is a dirty little secret that needs to be brought out into the open. College communities can do so much more to foster awareness, better protect their students, and provide the kind of supportive environment that puts the interests of the victim first. But there has to be the will to do so.
As a district attorney in Delaware County, my eyes were opened to the re-victimization that can occur through the disturbing case of a female college student who was sexually assaulted by a vacationing student after a holiday party. The assailant claimed the act was consensual and a less courageous, determined victim might have surrendered there. She did not and neither did a resourceful prosecutor who discovered that another woman from the rapist's college had a strikingly similar story to tell. Unfortunately, for this first victim, the prestigious New England college she attended buried the event. There would be no real investigation and no prosecution. Without a place to turn and subjected to furtive taunts by her assailant, the first victim is the one who left school. She felt only mildly vindicated when her testimony helped put the rapist behind bars for the second crime, which never should have happened.
This example is not an isolated incident but is symbolic of a problem where school officials discourage victims from moving forward with their cases or fail to take effective actions against perpetrators. It also highlights the importance of the Jeanne Clery Act, and how this federal law, which requires colleges to monitor crimes on campus, can awaken and inspire communities to provide better protection and support for victims.
First, the alarming facts according to a nationwide study completed last December by the National Institute of Justice. Sexual assault is widely considered the most under-reported crime in America. The study concludes that just less than three percent of all college women become victims of rape during the nine months of a typical school year. This equates to 35 rapes for every 1,000 women students on campus. More troubling is that less that five percent of completed and attempted rapes are brought to the attention of campus authorities or law enforcement. There is a fundamental disconnect if so many victims do not pursue remedies that might help them move from victim to survivor. Without that step, a victim never really heals.
Sexual assault on college campuses is a dirty little secret that needs to be brought out into the open. College communities can do so much more to foster awareness, better protect their students, and provide the kind of supportive environment that puts the interests of the victim first. But there has to be the will to do so.
As a district attorney in Delaware County, my eyes were opened to the re-victimization that can occur through the disturbing case of a female college student who was sexually assaulted by a vacationing student after a holiday party. The assailant claimed the act was consensual and a less courageous, determined victim might have surrendered there. She did not and neither did a resourceful prosecutor who discovered that another woman from the rapist's college had a strikingly similar story to tell. Unfortunately, for this first victim, the prestigious New England college she attended buried the event. There would be no real investigation and no prosecution. Without a place to turn and subjected to furtive taunts by her assailant, the first victim is the one who left school. She felt only mildly vindicated when her testimony helped put the rapist behind bars for the second crime, which never should have happened.
This example is not an isolated incident but is symbolic of a problem where school officials discourage victims from moving forward with their cases or fail to take effective actions against perpetrators. It also highlights the importance of the Jeanne Clery Act, and how this federal law, which requires colleges to monitor crimes on campus, can awaken and inspire communities to provide better protection and support for victims.
First, the alarming facts according to a nationwide study completed last December by the National Institute of Justice. Sexual assault is widely considered the most under-reported crime in America. The study concludes that just less than three percent of all college women become victims of rape during the nine months of a typical school year. This equates to 35 rapes for every 1,000 women students on campus. More troubling is that less that five percent of completed and attempted rapes are brought to the attention of campus authorities or law enforcement. There is a fundamental disconnect if so many victims do not pursue remedies that might help them move from victim to survivor. Without that step, a victim never really heals.
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