Addressing sexual assault on campus
By Laura Knudson Editor-in-Chief
With national discussion building in response to the 89 colleges under investigation for mishandling sexual assault cases, one thing has become glaringly hard to ignore: sexual violence can happen anywhere.
Since the start of this school year, half a dozen sexual assault cases have been reported at Western, according to Dr. Gary Dukes, vice president of student affairs.
“So far we’ve had the most consistent amount of referrals we’ve ever had,” said Andrea Doyle Hugmeyer, assistant director of Abby’s House, a resource and referral center available to persons of any gender for a number of issues.
In previous years, Doyle Hugmeyer said reports were scattered, with some months yielding no reports. So far, Abby’s House has had weekly referrals from sexual assault survivors since fall term started.
In 2013, six reports of sexual assault were filed with Campus Public Safety, and seven anonymous reports were filed with the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, according to Campus Public Safety’s published statistics, indicating that there may have been as many as 13 reported sexual assaults in 2013, or as few as six.
Although there is a rise in consistent reports already this year, it does not necessarily mean it’s happening more on campus. Doyle Hugmeyer said she hopes it means people are using Abby’s House as a resource more than before.
“I don’t know if people are reporting more because there is more support, but I think there is more awareness because of the culture,” said Nancy Minnick, Campus Public Safety Committee Scribe.
Students acknowledge sexual assault as a reality on campus. Whether it is sexual, verbal, or on social media, “assault happens here,” said Brittany App, Senior ASL major. “It happens everywhere.”
“Our campus doesn’t differ from anywhere else,” said Bryan Kelley, junior Humanities major.
Studies conducted since the 1980s have shown a consistent figure of one in four college women reporting that they survived either rape or attempted rape, at some point in their lifetime, according to oneinfourusa.org.
“Until that number is gone, it will always be an issue,” said Marissa Onshus-Womble, Advocate of Abby’s House.
A 2007 national rape study funded by the Department of Justice found 11 percent of college women who experience rape, report it to the police.
Rape is the least reported of all violent crimes according to a 2009 National Crime Victimization Survey.
DEFINING SEXUAL ASSAULT
In attempts to diminish sexual assault, the Obama administration launched their “It’s On Us” campaign in September, aimed at engaging men in prevention measures, effectively responding to assault by increasing transparency in the federal government’s effort to enforce laws.
However, campuses like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found students were unsure of what constituted sexual assault. An MIT survey showed 17 percent of female students fit the sexually assaulted description, but only 11 percent checked yes on the survey when asked if they had been.
Dukes said victims are not always sure if they have been assaulted.
According to Western’s sexual misconduct web page, sexual misconduct is defined as non-consensual sexual contact. Sexual contact includes “touching of any private body part, including, but not limited to genitalia, buttocks, anus or breasts of another or causing such person to touch genitalia, anus, buttocks or breasts of another.” It also includes attempts to have non-consensual sexual contact, the threat of such contact, sexual exploitation, emotional/psychological abuse, sexual harassment and stalking.
The webpage categorizes behavior non-consensual if “no consent is freely given, the person is substantially impaired by alcohol or drugs, or the person is otherwise without the physical or mental capacity to give clear consent.”
When it comes to consent, Abby’s House supports the “Yes means yes” campaign. “Yes means yes” legislation adopted in states like California, put the focus of sexual consent on mutually agreed-upon sexual activity. Consent is mutual and continuous and requires partners to pay attention to physical and emotional cues as well.
Verbal consent should be repeated often, said Onshus-Womble.
“Just because you consented one time doesn’t mean you will the next,” she added.
“And you have the right to change your mind,” said Jessica Fontaine, another advocate for Abby’s House.
Both said students should consent every step of the way whether it be kissing or having sex.
For students who may still be unsure of whether or not they were assaulted, Fontaine said it was simple.
“The difference between someone who was raped and someone who wasn’t is that the person who was raped was in the presence of the rapist,” she said. “That’s the only factor.”
THE SURVIVORS YOU DON’T HEAR ABOUT
When most people hear the word rape, they visualize a woman being assaulted by a man, Doyle Hugmeyer said. But there are other victims we fail to acknowledge.
Males can be sexually assaulted, as can persons in same-sex relationships.
One in six men are found to have experienced sexual assault before age 18 according to 1in6.org.
“Abuse and assault is linked with asserting power and trying to control power happens in various forms,” Doyle Hugmeyer said. “You can be assaulted by someone of any gender or any sexual identity.”
The reason we don’t hear about male sexual assault is because men are typically viewed as physically stronger and more powerful than women, Doyle Hugmeyer said. “To be sexually assaulted means that the victim is put in the position of being controlled,” which is something we associate more with women, she added.
When men report sexual assault it “basically feminizes them,” she said.
Similarly, one reason we may not hear about same-sex relationship violence, is due to the “the layer of additional stress and barriers because some people are homophobic,” said Doyle Hugmeyer.
Despite stigmas and myths that sexual assault only happens to women, students acknowledge that it can happen to everyone.
“I believe that men can and sometimes are sexually assaulted, be it by men or by women,” said Isaac Golden, Junior Psychology major.”
Jenna Beresham, senior ALS major agreed saying, “Anyone of any race, gender, sexuality and so forth can be sexually assaulted.”
“I think that there are a lot of men on our campus that share these beliefs in the sense that they want to see change happen,” said Doyle Hugmeyer.
SURVIVING IN A VICTIM-BLAMING CULTURE
Victim blaming culture refers to an attitude that the survivor is at fault for their assault because of their behavior.
Deborah Thompson, executive director of Sable House, an organization in Dallas, serving domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, said, commonly used excuses for assault include: “She shouldn’t have been wearing that low-cut blouse,” “She was out late,” and “She didn’t fight it off.”
“I absolutely do not think any girl alive has asked to be assaulted,” said Bridget Conklin, senior English major.
Yet, some feel clothing options do play a role.
“Sexual assault can be intensified by choice of clothing and is a factor, but if someone intends to sexually assault, it doesn’t matter what is being worn by others,” said Jennifer P., senior.
The drug enforcement agency of the Department of Justice lists alcohol as the number one most common used drug in sexual assault
Dress attire and alcohol consumption could be reasons why some colleges aim sexual assault education at risk reduction, teaching students how to be safe.
Doyle Hugmeyer says while discussions of risk reduction are important in terms of staying conscious of safety, instructing potential rape victims to dress more modest or drink less should not be the only way to address sexual assault. It takes responsibility off the perpetrator, she says, and can be difficult to identify when discussion boarders on blame, ultimately making things worse for survivors.
“It’s a hard line to identify and try not to cross,” she said. “On one end it’s important to acknowledge how to stay safe on campus. But if that’s the strongest method that prevails in our community, we aren’t doing it the right way.”
In terms of improving how sexual assault is addressed on campus, “Eliminating the victim-blaming culture is the biggest thing we can do that,” said Fontaine.
PUTTING FOCUS ON THE PERPETRATOR
Focus should be placed on “not raping,” Doyle Hugmeyer said, and focusing on the offenders.
“We get a lot of models of sexual behavior from the media and often times sexuality is tied to power and control,” she said. “So if we were to change the model to reflect different behaviors like getting consent every step of the way, that would be huge in seeing sexual assault diminish.”
Most importantly, “If a woman tells you she was sexually assaulted – believe her,” said Doyle Hugmeyer. “That’s a big step in putting the attention on the perpetrator. It means that we are validating the experience.”
These conversations have occurred for quite some time, said Doyle Hugmeyer. “I think now is an appropriate time to formalize the conversation and put things into action on campus.”
Combating assault with campus-wide conversation
A men’s social justice group is in the works for Abby’s House, lead by advocate Kevin Gutierrez, in attempts to start a conversational group, discussing topics related of masculinity and gender norms.
“The goal is to create a campus discussion, said Doyle Hugmeyer. “We hope that clubs emerge out of that group that would essentially do educational programming and activism related to meet these issues from a male ally standpoint.”
After receiving grants from the WOU foundation, advocates also put together a media campaign, creating sexual violence posters and informational video clips.
A phone app will also be available on iTunes in a few weeks, providing campus and community resources and information on what to do if you experience sexual violence.
Through Western’s Campus Against Sexual Assault grant (CASA) from the U.S. Department of Justice, Abby’s House is looking into funding a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. Doyle Hugmeyer said they would hire a “SAME” nurse on campus or in
Dallas to be available for “safe kits.” When a person is sexually assaulted they are able to seek a safe kit, which includes DNA swabbing, vaginal examination, urine samples and other forensic procedures.
“As of right now the closest nurse to do that is the Salem hospital,” Doyle Hugmeyer said, which can be a problem if the student does not have transportation.
In creating campaigns and starting discussion groups, the hope of Abby’s House is to create many opportunities for students to seek help. “It’s something every campus should be moving toward,” she said.
“Ideally we’d like to have an environment where sexual assault doesn’t happen,” said Dukes. “I generally feel like we are doing a good job, but clearly we can always do a better job.”
REPORTING SEXUAL ASSAULT
When asked what the first thing a victim should do after being sexually assaulted, Doyle Hugmeyer said, “It’s going to vary by victim, but go to a safe place.” She said this could be the counseling center, or to a member of the CARE team, a friend’s house or even to an Resident Assistant.
Abby’s House is also a place where victims can seek help from trained members in regard to referrals for sexual assault or just to come in and talk, Fontaine said.
The first step is confiding in a campus resource or someone you trust, Fontaine said. “We can’t have justice for our survivors if we don’t know that it happened to them.”
To report a sexual assault or seek help regarding sexual/domestic violence, contact Abby’s House at 503-838-8219, abbyshouse@wou.edu or stop by their location on the bottom floor of the Werner University Center, room 106. To file an official report for criminal action, call Campus Public Safety at 503-838-8481, or the Monmouth Police Department at 503-838-1109. To file a student conduct report, contact the WOU Office of Student Conduct at 503-838-8930.
