The amount of sexual violence faced by students at Canadian universities is staggering. Every semester, the average post-secondary institution in this country sees eight different cases of sexual assault in the first eight weeks of classes — that’s one instance every week, per school.
Canadian women aged 15 to 24 are by far the most likely victims of sexual assault in the country, and university students are no exception: the Sexual Assault Centre of Hamilton and Area reports that 29 per cent of female university students have experienced some form of sexual assault.
That’s almost one third of students. Something is seriously wrong here.
University culture, one that usually promotes openness and exploration, has also historically been a silencing factor for many assault victims. Recently, however, activists have been more vocal than ever about universities upscaling their policies to prevent sexual assault and punish abusers.
Statistics would argue that sexual assault is becoming more prevalent: there’s been a 52 per cent increase in rape reports on American campuses from 2001 to 2011. More than anything, though, it’s a sign that assault victims and allies are making greater efforts to voice their experiences and change the way we think about assault on campus. And we’d do well to listen.
Most victims of assault in post-secondary settings seek justice within the school system.
We know that most sexual assaults go unreported, and that victims are encouraged by our culture to hide their experiences rather than discuss them openly. As an article in Time magazine noted, this statistic “doesn’t necessarily mean that more sexual assaults [have] occurred as much as it shows that colleges are getting better at acknowledging the ones that have always taken place.”
Whether or not the numbers have always been this high, it’s only now that we’re finally realizing the scope of the issue. This is — a little counterintuitively — actually a good thing. The number of complaints towards colleges in handling and accurately defining sexual assault cases has risen steadily over the last 10 years, showing that people are, now more than ever, feeling capable of speaking up.
Though these numbers are deeply disturbing, it is important that we realize just how dangerous and unsafe university campuses prove for many people. Since most victims of assault in post-secondary settings seek justice within the schools rather than through police or legal action, institutions have a serious responsibility to protect their students; the increasing outcry towards university policy on assault is a crucial step in the right direction.
In an op-ed for The Los Angeles Times, Gabrielle Glaser writes, “The disciplinary systems of colleges [. . .] have proved utterly inadequate to deal with the more serious issue of sexual assault.” Accordingly, she says “Many women report feeling victimized a second time by their universities.” This is not an uncommon experience — many assault victims have shared stories of ill treatment from universities when reporting their experiences.
Consider Angie Epifano, an Amherst College student whose first person account of her rape, along with the story of how college officials brushed her off, went viral in 2012. Her story is the story of thousands of people whose assault has been treated with disinterest — sometimes even disdain — by the very people who should be helping and protecting them.
In order to end the crisis of sexual assault in North American universities, we need to look past the individuals who commit these crimes, and examine the institutions that allow these attacks to occur in the first place, and that don’t respond appropriately. Taking these institutions to task is crucial in promoting a safe campus environment for everyone, and making sure university students can focus on what’s important: their education.
