There was a very thoughtful piece in “TheDartmouth.com” publication recently regarding sexual assault on college campuses over homecoming weekends. The piece was written by Hannah Wang of the Dartmouth staff. Her premise was a simple one. Homecoming weekend attracts a lot of registered and unregistered guests as well as alumni to the campus and with all the Greek activity, parties, alcohol, etc., the likelihood of sexual assault increases.
She pointed out that sexual predators “find vulnerable people as victims and use alcohol to make them more vulnerable and less able to resist” and that big social weekends like homecoming make it easier to access alcohol.
The article pointed out that every woman at Dartmouth “has been touched in a way that she didn’t invite or want.”
One in four women is a victim of sexual assault over the course of their college career. But she also said that this is one of the most under-reported crimes. Reporting rates are low nationally because women fear loss of “social status, damage to their reputation, shame and confusion.”
Most sexual assault cases are not committed by a stranger but by someone who shares a “social space” a person who is known to the victim. She also mentioned in her article that most effort is geared towards response of what happens after the crime-not prevention, which is the key. If students were more aware of risky situations, preventing sexual assault might be easier.
One such situation, for example, is a Greek party where the ingredients in drinks and who gets them are controlled by the hosts of the party-the Greeks. Under the right circumstances that can be a recipe for disaster.
There is a movement on campus to involve male students and inform them about the issue of sexual assault, get them into discussions about the topic and encourage them to take the issue as their own.
In all fairness, it should be pointed out that this situation occurs on every college campus throughout the country, but apparently Dartmouth has a higher number of fraternities than most schools.
Aside from recognizing risky situations women should be made aware of self-defense products that can protect them in cases of sexual assault or any kind of assault. Self-defense products can give you valuable minutes of opportunity to escape a potentially dangerous situation and seek help by disabling an assailant.
A pepper spray that is on your keychain, for example, is with you wherever you go and can be a valuable tool in your first line of defense against sexual assault.
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