Due to the lack of reliable victimization research, we do not know if the number of sexual assaults on campus is acutally increasing or decreasing. We do not know that because sexual assault is being talked about more frequently among students and because educational programming has increased, on-campus sexual assaults are being reported more often. There are certainly more reasons the numbers are more likely to be on the rise (Keller, 1992).
1. Student enrollments have increased - thus, there are more opportunities for sexual assaults to occur.
2. Recreational use of alcohol and other chemical substances on campus remains high (75% of men and 55% of women involved in acquaintance rape had been drinking or using drugs just before the attack).
3. Increasing portrayal of sexual stimuli and sexual violence in the media.
4. Liberalized visitation policies in on-campus residence halls. (The most frequent sites of acquaintance rapes are the assailant's or victim's rooms).
Just what is "sexual assault?" Most people think immediately of rape. Rape, both by stranger and by acquaintance, is widely recognized, but there are other acts of violence committed without the consent of the victim that are sexual assaults as well. These include assaults or penetration with objects other than a penis, non-penetration assaults of a sexual nature, indecent exposure, voyeurism, obscene phone calls, and sexual harassment. All of these crimes and are against the university student code.
A Fall, 1994, nationwide survey reaffirmed the nearly unbelievable statistic that 1 in 4 females has been sexually victimized. Another study completed by the National Victim Center in 1992, concluded that a female's first sexual assault most often occurs prior to the age of eighteen. The impact on these victims can be great. The plight of the victim is enough to anger anyone with a concern for individual life and liberty. It is impossible to undo a victimization.
Violent crimes usually provoke some type of reaction or loss--physical, financial social, psychological, and, in the case of students, academic. The first two are described in newspapers and other forums and are recorded by police and other official reports. The other resulting in traumas, however, are not so easily identified but may harm the victim even more. The psycho- logical wound is often severe or permanent. After crimes occur, strong feelings remain. Emotional distress can include feelings of fear, anger, shame, helplessness, guilt, and/or depression. Sometimes interruption from life linger: sleeplessness, nightmares, social isolation, flashbacks, intense insecurity. College students who have been sexually assaulted most often experience effects on their academic functioning. In nearly every case, the victim cannot perform at usual level. The academic impact may be felt immediately following the incident or may not be recognized until sometime later. But the negative impact is powerful, and, at times, prohibitive for continuation of the normal class load. As a victim/survivor attempts to return to a normal lifestyle, there may be great difficulty concentrating. Missing classes becomes commonplace, either as a result of increased general social withdrawal or in an attempt to avoid seeing the perpetrator. Sleep- lessness at night due to anxiety may translate to decreaed energy and academic motivation by day.
Rather than risk exposure of the nature of the trauma, the victim may avoid communicating needs and feelings to instructors and others who might help. Student victims often must withdraw from certain courses to maintain their academic equilibrium. In more traumatic incidents, victims may choose to withdraw completely from the university, at least for a semester, until their composure is regained. At the far end of the continuum are those cases in which victims transfer to another university rather than continue in the same environment where the assault occurred.
Since the educational mission of a college or university is to foster an open learning and working environment, it has an ethical obligation to provide an environment free from sexual assault and from the fear that sexual assault may occur. The entire campus community suffers when sexual assault invades the academic atmosphere; thus, the college condemns such unacceptable behavior and provides services to victims of such incidents.
Being alert to changes in a student's behavior or to a rapid decline in academic functioning is the key to assisting the victim. Reaching out to the student with supportive words and a willingness to listen may provide the sexual assault victim the opportunity to ask for help. There are services at GMU which offer professional assistance as well. For more information, call the Sexual Assault Services Coordinator,at (703) 993-4364.