How talking to men may reduce the risk of sexual assault on college campuses

Date published: 9/3/2007

BY REBECCA BLATT

One in four.

That's the number of women who, researchers estimate, are victims of rape or attempted rape during their college careers.

One in 20.

That's the number of college women who report their sexual assaults to law enforcement officials.

One in three.

That's the number of college sexual-assault victims who do not tell anyone about their experiences

The statistics speak for themselves.

Sexual assault at universities is prevalent, underreported and often seen as taboo. But a new movement is unfolding with the hope of changing that.

For decades, schools have tried to address the problem in a variety of ways. Most offer educational seminars during new-student orientations to give students, especially females, safety strategies. Some campus police departments offer self- defense classes, and many university women's centers provide victim support and peer-education groups.

But despite these attempts, the prevalence of sexual assault has remained consistent, says Adam Lalor, executive director of One in Four, a nonprofit that aims to reduce sexual assault on campuses.

So leaders in sexual-assault prevention have begun to look for new ways to attack the problem. They say that efforts focused on women may not address the entire issue.

"All of those things are important in some ways, but they really only address the behavior of the potential victim," says Chris Kilmartin, a University of Mary Washington professor of psychology whose research focuses on sexual assault.

John Foubert, founder of One in Four, agrees.

"It's sort of like if you have a dam that's breaking. All you're doing if you're educating women is putting your finger in the dike at different places," he says.

While most men are not rapists, as many as 98 percent of rapists are men.

For that reason, experts say encouraging men to stand up to peers who commit sexual assault may be a key to success. The goal is to approach sexual assault as a societal issue rather than as a women's issue.

Many Virginia universities have begun adopting that philosophy and reaching out to male students.

Robert Franklin, the Virginia Department of Health's male-outreach coordinator for sexual violence prevention, says he works with colleges across the state. His male-focused position was created in 2002.

"RED ZONE": Alison Kiss, program director for the national nonprofit Security on Campus Inc., said that calls from student victims double during the first six weeks of the year. Be aware that the transition to school, especially for first-year students, is a particularly vulnerable time. Act accordingly. ALCOHOL: Experts estimated that 80 percent of college students who had unwanted sex were under the influence of alcohol. If you are going to drink, decide ahead of time how much you're going to drink and stick to your limits, said Tammy McKeown, coordinator of sexual assault and domestic violence services at Virginia Commonwealth University. ISOLATION: Go to parties in groups. Make sure you keep an eye out for your friends and they keep eyes out for you. Some professionals suggested agreeing ahead of time not to leave alone and calling police if you can't locate your friend. BOUNDARIES Be wary of people who try to test your physical boundaries by doing things like touching you to see how you react. That may be a sign that they will try to push your boundaries further. RESOURCES: Federal law requires campuses to have some response to crime on campus or support services for victims. Find out where to go if you or someone you know is a victim of crime--just in case. Campuses are also required to report crime statistics to the Department of Education. You can stop by your campus police department to look at the stats yourself. This is the second and final day of stories dealing with crime on college campuses. Sunday's stories dealt with larceny and concealed weapons on campuses.

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Date published: 9/3/2007

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