Be afraid of dark alleyways. Don’t walk alone. And whatever you do, don’t dress like you’re asking for it.
These are the messages most college students associate with sexual assault, especially on a college campus. After all, it’s the strangers who are most likely to assault you, right?
But nine out of every 10 people who are sexually assaulted will know the person who assaulted them, said Audra Hixson, assistant director of the Center for Women Students. Only about three or four students report being sexually assaulted by a stranger per school year, she said.
Hixson, who has worked at the center for 15 years, said sexual assault isn’t a new issue on college campuses around the country, but it’s one that continues to play a role in the everyday lives of students. She also noted what she called “increased awareness” surrounding sexual assault given the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case, in which the former assistant football coach was found guilty of 45 counts of child sex abuse.
So far this semester, Penn State Police and State College Police fielded a collective 15 reports of sexual assault since Aug. 27, numbers Hixson said are not out of the ordinary. While the number of reports may have increased, she said she doesn’t think there is a staggering difference in the actual number of incidents that are occurring — many sexual assaults go unreported.
Penn State Police Chief Tyrone Parham said he would like to see the reporting numbers go up because it would more accurately reflect the number of students who are experiencing the crime.
Nationally, the demand for counseling has also increased since the Sandusky case broke last November, with the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network reporting a consistent 47 percent increase in calls, said Katherine Hull, RAINN’s vice president of communications.
On Wednesday, RAINN also topped its numbers, now having reached a total of 1.8 million people who have been affected by sexual abuse through both the national and online hotlines, Hull said.
“All of this is just going to show the power of what news stories over the past year have done,” she said. “It’s changed the way Americans are thinking about sexual abuse and made people realize that it’s never too late to get help, even if it’s happened years ago.”
Through reporting, students can also help prevent a sexual assault from happening to someone else.
Typically, when an assault comes from someone the person knows, the likelihood of reporting becomes even smaller, Hixson said.
“People who are assaulted by an acquaintance are often afraid they won’t be believed and the potential for retaliation,” she said. “In many cases, these people might know where the victim lives.”
Parham confirmed that most often, a person who has been sexually assaulted reports that they either invited the person who assaulted them into their dorm room or apartment or were invited into the person’s room.
He also said that most sexual assaults are experienced by women who report a man assaulted them.
The Center for Women Students offers both educational and counseling services for students on campus, as well as emotional support for those who have experienced sexual assault, Hixson said.
The center works to aid those who have been assaulted with the resources they need to either move forward in pressing charges against the individual or move forward emotionally, she said.
Students can contact the center at 814-863-2027 or can contact RAINN at 1-800-656-HOPE or online at www.rainn.org.
