Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and we feel that this is important to talk about; especially for college students.

Why is it important for us to talk about sexual assault and how it pertains to college students? Here are just a few statistics:

• 20% – 25% of college women and 15% of college men are victims of forced sex during their time in college (b)
• A 2002 study revealed that 63.3% of men at one university who self-reported acts qualifying as rape or attempted rape admitted to committing repeat rapes (h)
• More than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault (b)
• 27% of college women have experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact (e)
• Nearly two thirds of college students experience sexual harassment (p)

We’ve touched on the Clery Act in the past, and we’ve talked about the Clery Act on our social media pages. The Clery Act allows parents and students to see the your school’s security reports. This is important because you want to know how safe your college campus is. You will most likely not see the true numbers for victims of sexual assault because so many go unreported, but you will get a general idea of how safe the campus is. Is your college campus doing enough to keep you safe and to allow you to report assault?

As a parent or a student, you should always ask what additional safety measures your campus provides. Can you download an app that allows you to have instant access to campus police or the local police dispatch? Are you able to make anonymous reports if you see something suspicious or illegal? What safety solutions does your campus provide? Who handles emergencies on your campus? Does the campus have a Rape Crisis Center?

We feel it’s our obligation to the communities we serve to offer guidance for anyone who has suffered from sexual assault. We wish there wasn’t a Sexual Assault Awareness Month, but while there is, we want you to know that we support the survivors. If you have been a victim of sexual assault in the past and you need support, please reach out to RAINN.

Is your college campus doing enough to keep you safe?