SEO: Increase in on-campus sexual assault
rates
SUMMARY BLURB TEASER:
College Campuses: A Hotbed Sexual Assault
College campuses have become prime locations
for sexual victimization, according to a new study
conducted by the White House Council on
Women and Girls.
Print: MAIN HEAD AND ARTICLE
Sexual Assault Rates on College Campuses
Rises
New report exposes realities of on-campus rape
occurrences
College campuses prove to be prime locations for
sexual victimization to occur, according to a new
study, which revealed that sexual assault
victimizes 1 in 5 college women.
The study, conducted by the White House Council
on Women and Girls, focused on the severity of
sexual assault on females throughout the country
who have reported to been raped throughout
their lifetime.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics,
females between the ages of 18 and 24
consistently experience higher rates of sexual
assault.
Changes in Sexual Misconduct
In 2000, the Department of Justice funded a
study, led by University of Cincinnati Professor
Bonnie S. Fisher, that exposed realities of sexual
assault amongst college women.
The study, Sexual Victimization of College
Women, explored sexual assault, sexual
coercion, stalking, and other forms of
victimization.
Professor Fisher claimed the majority of sexual
victimizations occurred in living quarters,
however the White House Council on Women and
Girls recently found sexual assault tends to occur
at college parties where female students
experience incapacitated assault.
Additionally, 80 percent of sexual assaults
involving a college-aged victim go unreported,
according to the U.S. Department of Justices
Bureau of Justice Statistics report on rape and
sexual assault among college aged women,
which university officials have deemed
unacceptable.
College Student Victimization Risk Factors
Perpetrators of sexual victimization target all
people however they tend to target some more
so than others.
The Department of Justices report in 2000
discovered factors that increase the risk of sexual
assault include high frequency of drinking, oncampus residency, and prior victimization.
Furthermore, the White House Council on Women
and Girls found women of multi-racial, American
Indian, Alaskan, Hispanic and Black women
encounter sexual assault more than white
women.
Additional findings of the 2014 White House
Council on Women and Girls Report include:
Most victims know their assailants
Repeat victimization is common
Less than 15 percent of victims report
assaults
Seven percent of college men admit to
committing rape or attempted rape.
UMD Sexual
Assault
Prevention
The University of
Maryland has taken
various precautions
to educate and
prevent sexual
assault on campus.
UMDs CARE to Stop Violence office welcomes
students at the health center in order To respond
to incidents of sexual assault, domestic violence,
dating violence, stalking and sexual harassment
effecting all genders of the University
community.
For more information on educational or
preventative sexual assault
services please visit the Office UMD has taken many initiatives to educate
the student body on the issue of sexual
of Civil Rights and Sexual
assault, including the Clothesline Project,
Misconduct.
which occurs on Hornbake Plaza every
year to support sexual assault victims.
Photo courtesy of Melissa Mark.
http://bit.ly/1Jl9Ocx
