Confronting Campus Rape By Nina Burleigh

‘Sexual Violence is more than just a crime against individuals. It threatens our families; it threatens our communities. Ultimately, it threatens the entire country’ (qtd. in Burleigh pg. 2). In the article, “Confronting Campus Rape” written by Nina Burleigh; a writer, journalist, and professor at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, describes what students are doing to force universities to take a stronger stand against campus sexual assault. Burleigh also describes what the government is doing to make a difference on the issue. This includes laws that have created consequences for the assaulter and laws that protect the victim. According to Burleigh, a young woman called Laura Dunn was sexually assaulted on campus. Dunn was a student of

UW. On April 4th, 2014, Dunn lost her virginity to two UW athletes. That night, Dunn was attending a party at the university. Dunn was enjoying the party and lost count of her alcohol intake. Dunn remembers being led out by two older teammates, who she knew. Dunn was very intoxicated, enough to stumble on her way back to what she thought would be another campus party, as one of the athletes helped her walk. The athletes led Dunn to one of their apartments where she found herself on a bed with both of them on top of her. Dunn was so intoxicated that she couldn’t help but to drift in and out of conscious leaving her unable to stop the two men. Dunn began to feel sick and was led to the bathroom by one of the athletes, where he penetrated her from behind while she was throwing up. That was a date Dunn would never forget. Dunn like many other women at the UW have been sexually abused by other students. Although Dun’s incident is shocking, it is not uncommon for women to be sexually assaulted on campus. A woman at the university of Wisconsin is more prone to being sexually assaulted than any other woman in the country because of alcohol intoxication; this is a problem that must be resolved.
Sexual assault is a colossal problem in the UW campus because it is very common for female students to be assaulted.. A sexual assault offender in the first degree is defined by Wisconsin Statutes as sexual contact or sexual intercourse with another person without consent. Second degree sexual assault is defined as any sexual intercourse by the use of threat of force or violence, any injury, disease or mental anguish. Sexual contact or sex with a mentally-ill, intoxicated, or unconscious person are also defined as second degree sexual assault (“Sex crimes” pg. 2-4). According to the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA), a study done in the year 2000 shows that at a campus of 10,000 students up to 350 female students are raped annually (“Campus” par. 4). Karen Herzog, a public health and higher education writer, did a study in 2015 about the University of Wisconsin-Madison sexual assault victims. The study consisted of a survey done to 8,972 UW students. The survey of UW student sexual assault revealed that more than one in four female undergraduates said they have been sexually assaulted since entering college, often by a friend or acquaintance (par. 1). The WCASA shows that, on average, each year about 183,000 (37%) rapes and sexual assaults involve alcohol use by offenders in Wisconsin (“Sexual pg.5). In the University of Wisconsin-Madison, three-fourths (76.1%) of the female students who experienced non-consensual penetration by force said they had been drinking. This means, the offenders can and victims are at risk of sexual assault. Half of the survey respondents, (53.3%) said they had witnessed a drunk person either victim or violator heading for a sexual assault, but did nothing about it (par. 17-18). Although alcohol is the number one reason for these assaults, the UW is not taking measures to reduce the risk of rape duet to alcohol consumption. The university; however, has implemented some prevention methods. One of these methods is to encourage women to speak up about their assaults. This method triggered many women to report the crime, but many still prefer not to. According to WCASA, fewer than 5% of rapes on campus were reported to law enforcement. That means more than 95% of women are not reporting the crime of rape. (Herzog, par 1-18)
The effects sexual assault women experience vary depending on the encounter; however, some common effects include emotional, mental, and physical traumas.

Some of the physical effects include bruising, bleeding (vaginal or anal), soreness, broken or dislocated bones, sexually transmitted infections and diseases, pregnancy, among other things. Mental and emotional effects are longer and harder to overcome than physical. Mental effects include post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), flashbacks, nightmares, severe anxiety, loss of energy or interest in activities previously enjoyed, and uncontrollable thoughts. Other consequences include, depression, feelings of hopelessness and dislocation, suicidal thoughts or attempts, and unsafety. (“Campus”, “Sexual”) These are considerably the biggest effects a victim of sexual assault can experience. Generally, unsafety is what leads women to keep quiet about the crime. Overcoming the feeling of unsafety may result in an increasing number of victims reporting the crime; therefore, lowering the number of victims sexually assaulted. Although it is easy to say, it is not easy to overcome the feeling of unsafety. Victims lose trust in everyone who surrounds them. In Herzog’s survey of UW students, women who are victims of sexual assault usually are assaulted by friends or acquaintance. It can be very difficult for the victim to restore confidence with those near them. Unsafety is not only experienced by students or victims. Parents also

wonder if their children are safe as they go to college. According to UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, ‘I want to state unambiguously that every student has the right to be safe’ (qtd. in Herzog, par. 9). The Chancellor also expressed that sexual assault concerns her deeply not just as the leader of the university, but as the mother of a college sophomore (par. 10). The Chancellor’s words show concern about the topic, but something needs to be done about it.
A potential solution for reducing sexaul assault due to alcohol intoxication is a prevention method called the Bystander intervention. According to Michael Winerip, a……. Jane Stapleton, a University of New Hampshire researcher who runs bystander intervention programs at universities around the country and in Europe believes it is the best hope for reducing campus sexual assault rates. Bystander intervention is a program where a person or bystander intervenes to prevent another person from being sexually assaulted. The intervention seems pretty basic, but it can be tricky at times. Stapleton recommends getting creative when trying to intervene. Stapleton suggests that suddenly turning on the lights at a party or turning off the music can be the easiest and safest way to stop the assault. Other interventions can be done such as, sipping a drink on the possible assaulter or simply pulling them away. The goal is not only to stop the attack, but to also recognize signs of possible abuse and intervene before it crosses the line from partying to sexual assault. The method is not only called upon women to make it work, but also for men. Anyone who is witnessing an assault should intervene. These interventions are simple and require minimal effort, but can make a drastic change in someone's life.
Another possible solution for reducing alcohol related sexual assault is the self-policing method.

In the Universities of Michigan students are implementing the self-policing. This strategy consists of students volunteering to patrol parties attended by fraternity and sorority members, who have been noticeable for being destructive and out of control. Michigan’s president, Mark Schlissel, has addressed the connection between drinking and campus sexual assault. The 2015 fact sheet from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism estimated that alcohol was a factor in 97,000 cases of sexual assault and rape each year among college students. As a result, Kegs were banned in any fraternity parties, as well as handles of drinks being passed around. These facts triggered students to start their own prevention method creating the student self-policing. These patrols monitor and supervise parties to prevent any student from committing sexual assault. Students can be able to volunteer for their own interest in safety. The Universities of Michigan have made this strategy into a requirement for parties. In order for students to have a party, there has to be a form of supervision. Students often prefer for other students to maintain safety because they feel more comfortable. This gives greater opportunity for the self-policing method to

succeed.
Another possible solution that can reduce sexual assault on campus would be a prevention method called the Night Squad. The Night Squad consists of members of the university’s police department on a stakeout for students who are illegally buying alcohol. Officers also look for possible scenarios where sexual assault can be committed. An example where it has been successful is in The Boston University. The University has implemented this method to prevent sexual assault due to alcohol abuse. Unlike other Universities that encourage students to drink responsibly, Boston University has created their own Night Squad to fight against sexual assault. The stakeout is done on a liquor store inside a grocery at the edge of the campus, where students who are not at the legal age to buy alcohol usually go to. The first day this method was implemented the officers had not been parked for five minutes when they spotted their first targets. According to the officers, two young men entered the store, one of them was wearing an empty backpack. That was a red flag because it suggests that one might be purchasing on behalf of the other. The officers waited until the two men exited the store and proceeded to ask for their ID’s. As the officers suspected one of the men was not at a legal age to purchase alcohol. The University has policies for student buying alcohol for anyone under 21 or with fake ID’s. The University can take away the student’s housing and impose athletic sanctions, but that sometimes isn’t enough to stop students from illegally buying alcohol. Before the program started in 2011, officers were calling ambulances for more than 300 students a year because of drunkenness. Those numbers have significantly dropped by nearly half. Although sexual assault still is existent in the University, tackling the alcohol intoxication reduces the chances of assault.