5 Things to Know About Campus Sexual Assault

Especially for freshmen, the ‘Red Zone’ is noted “period from when a student first steps foot on campus to Thanksgiving break.” Almost 90% of sexual assault cases at the University of Colorado at Boulder are experienced during the first two years. This and the ‘Red Zone’ are believed to be because new students lack familiarity with the campus, as they are living on their own for the first time and lack social connections to those around them.

The statistics show that one in four women will experience sexual assault while at college. LGBTQ+ college students suffer additional risk than their peers with one studying showing that up to 73% of LGBTQ+ students experience sexual assault. Around 11% of all students will suffer rape or sexual assault. Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males will experience sexual assault. 4.2% of students will experience stalking.

Over the last ten years, only 2-10% of all sexual misconduct cases were found to have been falsely reported. According to the National Registry of Exonerations, “since records began in 1989, there are only 52 cases where men convicted of sexual assault were exonerated because it turned out they were falsely accused. By way of comparison, in the same period, there are 790 cases in which people were exonerated for murder.” False reports are few and far in-between. Believe survivors.

The rights of all students to receive the same opportunities and be able to obtain the same level of education are protected under Title IX. Title IX of the Education Amendment Act of 1972 states as a federal law that states, “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” This federal law is used for many different discriminatory issues within college campuses, including the ability to obtain an education without threat or fear of sexual violation.

Every University has its own resources; make sure you know yours. There should also be the Campus Police Department. When it comes to reporting sexual assault, the sooner you do it is better. Evidence in sexual violation cases is difficult to come by and any time that passes between the event and the report will lose valuable evidence to getting justice for these crimes.

Nation-Wide resources include the following:

RAINN: The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network is a telephone hotline that is completely confidential. When you call this hotline, only the first six numbers of your phone number are viewed on the call. (800-656-4673) https://www.rainn.org/

MESA: Moving to End Sexual Assault. Located in Boulder with a 24-hour hotline as well as in-person support, victim advocacy, and specialized support groups. (1-844-493-8255) https://movingtoendsexualassault.org/

NSVRC: National Sexual Violence Resource Center. Their services can provide you with support contacts, as well as putting you in contact with your local rape crisis centers https://www.nsvrc.org/

SARA: Sexual Assault Response Advocates. They have a hotline number. This is a center for rape crisis and a child advocacy center. (970-867-2121) http://sarainc.org

SAVA: Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Center. Located in Fort Collins Colorado. Their goal is to provide crisis intervention to survivors and offer to counsel to those affected by sexual assault. http://savacenter.org/

(Taken from CU’s Website)