Why Does Sexual Assault on Campus Get Largely Ignored?

It is no understatement that sexual assault continues to be a very serious issue at every single college and university campus in Ontario, Canada.

One woman in five experiences sexual assault while attending a post-secondary institution.

A 2015 survey across 27 university campuses in the United States found that “Twenty-three per cent of female undergraduate university students reported having experienced sexual assault or sexual misconduct.” “Rates of reporting to campus officials, law enforcement or others ranged from five to 28 per cent, depending on the specific type of behavior.”

“The most common reason for not reporting incidents of sexual assault and sexual misconduct was that it was not considered serious enough.”

Other reasons included because they were “embarrassed, ashamed or that it would be too emotionally difficult,” and because they “did not think anything would be done about it.”

It’s also emotionally devastating.

Baylor is a private Christian university in Waco, Texas. US News and World Report’s official 2020 Best Colleges ranks Baylor as No. 8 in the nation for the First-Year Experience category. Baylor gets listed in several different categories as well.

I feel this beautifully represents Baylor’s caring culture where every student matters and is valued.
~ Michelle Cohenour, director of student success initiatives

That “caring culture” seems not to extend to girls who suffered indignities at the hands of members of Baylor’s financially profitable football team.

In the early weeks of her freshman year, Jill (not her name, but someone to whom I have a close connection) accepted an invitation to a frat party. During the merrymaking, she was drugged and gang raped by several members of the university’s championship football team.

After the usual and nauseating, long-drawn-out legal battle, Baylor settled this case out of court. For a vast sum.

But that has not been the end of the psychological trauma for Jill. Her life has gone off the rails. She dropped out of Baylor and has been unable to complete even the first term at two other colleges. Sadly, he has become an alcoholic.

Later, “. . . horrified by the extent of these acts of sexual violence” the Board of Regents fired the football coach, the athletic director and the president, Kenneth Starr. Starr later resigned as Chancellor and law school professor. You may be old enough to recall that Ken Starr famously investigated the Bill Clinton – Monica Lewinsky sex scandal. Interestingly, he also was on the team of Jeffrey Epstein’s lawyers who were hired to discredit or intimidate women who came forward and who were able to convince prosecutors to go easy on him.

Why do you think sexual assault on campus gets largely ignored? What are the power dynamics at play?

Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct: Key Findings

• Overall, 11.7 percent of student respondents across 27 universities reported experiencing non-consensual sexual contact by physical force, threats of physical force, or incapacitation since they enrolled at their university.

• The incidence of sexual assault and sexual misconduct due to physical force, threats of physical force, or incapacitation among female undergraduate student respondents was 23.1 percent, including 10.8 percent who experienced penetration.

• Overall rates of reporting to campus officials and law enforcement or others were low, ranging from five percent to 28 percent, depending on the specific type of behavior.

• The most common reason for not reporting incidents of sexual assault and sexual misconduct was that it was not considered serious enough. Other reasons included because they were “embarrassed, ashamed or that it would be too emotionally difficult,” and because they “did not think anything would be done about it.”

• More than six in 10 student respondents (63.3 percent) believe that a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct would not be taken seriously by campus officials.