On-Campus Sexual Assault:

The Unfair Truth About Trauma and How It Effects Its Victims

For anyone who has been fortunate enough to remain out of harm’s way in relation to college campus sexual assault, it may be difficult to imagine the pain and suffering that a victim may go through. The immense trauma that is felt when being taken advantage of is unlike anything that a person could ever imagine, and yet, there are some people who are exposed to this pain at a young and vulnerable age. This was the case for a Jane Doe on the night of October 3rd at UCSB’s Sigma Pi fraternity. Jane Doe, whose real name was hidden from the media for safety purposes, was considerably sober at one of Sigma Pi’s university-approved parties on the night of the incident. Doe claims that she and her perpetrator were platonic friends during the previous summer, but when they went to a private room to begin “hooking up”, things got aggressive very fast. When she asked him to calm down or stop, her perpetrator replied with “I don’t care” and “You’re not leaving tonight”. As she was being violated and tortured, Doe thought to herself that she could have punched him or started screaming. She claims that a person with self-respect would’ve tried to save themselves, but at the time, she felt no respect for herself. Doe’s perpetrator used her body, stripped her of her self-respect, and began to induce psychological scars that will last a lifetime. Doe wasn’t planning on speaking up about the incident until she finally escaped and met up with friends. They informed her she about another girl that had been assaulted by the same man the night before. As both victims’ names remain unrevealed, so does the name of the rapist, who media is calling “John Smith”. (Spence and Kamidi, 2019)

After reporting the crime, the university cancelled future fraternity events for the rest of the quarter and sent out a vague email to students “informing” them of the situation. Many students were enraged when they found out the “unprecedented level of misconduct from fraternity members” which was mentioned in the email, was simply a sugarcoated way of saying that one of the school’s fraternity brothers had raped another student. Rumors of the real story got out on campus through social media and students promptly began planning protests against Sigma Pi. Members of the community were especially frustrated because the university concealed the name of the rapist, even after he had violated two women, while masking self-preservation by offering resources for rape prevention and rape trauma counseling. It was argued that one of the biggest resources that could help students stay safe wasn’t released: the name and face of John Smith, the rapist.

There are thousands of others like Jane Doe; the Association of American Universities (2015) claims 11.2% of college students are assaulted or raped through means of physical force and violence throughout their college careers. In fact, women in college are three times as likely to be assaulted than an off-campus citizen. Many victims also face a situation similar to Jane Doe’s, wherein they freeze during the act instead of yelling for help. This is a common occurrence in victims of sexual assault known as dissociation, or “frozen fright”. During a state of dissociation, victims may feel paralyzed. Victims of dissociation often remember the incident from a different point of view, as if they were standing somewhere across the room. This is the body’s first response to trauma as it allows the mind to separate itself from the body, so the victim doesn’t feel as much pain in the moment (Lonsway, 2007). In fact, victims often say the worst pain they face occurs after experiencing assault because the symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, begin to manifest. Symptoms of PTSD can be physical; many women are left with rape related injuries which oftentimes lead to pain, muscle tension, fatigue, and gynecological problems (Lonsway). However, psychological symptoms of PTSD are extremely prevalent in victims of sexual assault, and arguably may cause more pain. Assault victims report feelings of disbelief, depression, helplessness, and even guilt (Lonsway). These feelings are the brain’s response to processing the assault and trying to make some sort of sense of it but, in reality there is no sense in such an inhumane act. Consequently, these symptoms can affect victims’ school performance, as PTSD can cause a variable number of effects which aren’t compatible in a school setting. Students who are sexually assaulted often struggle with a lack of focus in class and often cope with self-destructive behaviors like drugs and alcohol (Lonsway). Dealing with the implications and effects of rape trauma is difficult for anybody; victims often report dropping out of school because they feel that they can’t handle the stress of school along with the stress of their trauma. Not to mention, dropping out of school significantly decreases future opportunities for jobs and earning potential therefore creating a cycle of hardship. While victims of rape are left having to deal with guilt, shame, fear, and hopelessness, oftentimes their assailants will get away with the crime. It is speculated that a large percent of on-campus rapes go unheard-of because it can be scary for victims to speak up against a criminal who they may see in class the next day. The people who inflict these violent acts are as much a part of the university as the victims are; they are friends of friends and your next-door neighbor. This is why so many criminals are able to get away with their crime and may go on to assault more people.

Sexual assault stories have been present at many universities so it begs the question: What are we doing to put a stop to this? Universities have most commonly replied to this dilemma with sexual assault prevention education. Many colleges have mandatory modules which students must complete, and some schools make students repeat these modules annually; experts believe that educating students can prevent unfortunate incidents from occurring (Howard, 2015). Recently, a big part of sexual education has been about the boundaries of consent. Universities have made it a point to clarify that consent can only be given explicitly and can be taken away at any time. Even with sexual assault education modules in place for years, the number of sexual crimes on university campuses has not lessened enough. Many people argue that universities are not doing enough to prevent these crimes. Educating students can be helpful but some people believe that stronger action must be taken. The public gets especially upset when colleges cover up the names of assailants, which is a common occurrence in many incidences, especially when assailants are involved with college sports programs. Universities have been known to make million-dollar settlements to protect rapists, so they are able to continue competing for the school’s athletic teams (Weistart, 2018). And while criminals are invited to thrive in their athletic careers, their victims go unheard and uncared-for.

University involvement is not the solution to the solving issue of rape culture on college campuses. For many perpetrators, rape is meant to serve as a way to take control of a person in order to gain power and feel masculine. Young male assailants tend to morph their insecurities surrounding their self-esteem or social standing into violent sexual acts against women. It doesn’t help that their peers either don’t see an issue with this, or don’t care, so the cycle of trauma continues to happen without reparation. Fraternity culture, specifically, is marked by sexual conquests, competition with peers, and a disrespect for women (Boyle, 2015, pg. 386). This type of environment is the perfect brewing ground for perpetuating rape culture thereby creating a space where sexual assault is normalized.

Sexual assault is anything but normal, however, and yet it is still being accepted as so in a multitude of university environments. The presence of these environments hurt thousands of women annually, while teaching young men that there will be no repercussions if they ever choose to violate a person’s body. While assailants roam college campuses without any guilt or shame, victims rot in it. Finding a solution to the increasing number of sexual assaults happening on college campuses is more complicated than simply informing college students of what consent is. While education on the subject can be useful, the underlying issue at hand is the way rape culture is perpetuated amongst young people. By facilitating an environment in which students understand that they don’t have to disrespect others in order to feel better about themselves, we can begin to build a community of students around the nation who are safer than they are now. Preventing rape culture stems at the root of every person’s psychological and social needs and can only be achieved when members of a college community are willing to learn and understand the seriousness of these issues. It may be a hard feat, but it will pay off with thousands of lives saved from years of trauma and distress.

Citations

· Sigma Pi Removes Fraternity Member Following Sexual Assault Allegations (2019) Retrieved from http://dailynexus.com/2019-10-24/sigma-pi-removes-fraternity-member-following-sexual-assault-allegations/

· Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics (2015) Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence

· Victim Impact: How Victims are Affected by Sexual Assault and How Law Enforcement Can Respond (2019) Retrieved from https://www.evawintl.org/Library/DocumentLibraryHandler.ashx?id=656

· Why Colleges Shouldn’t Handle Sexual Assault Problems (2015) Retrieved from https://www.chronicle.com/article/Why-Colleges-Shouldn-t-Be/243032

· How Colleges Are Battling Sexual Violence (2015) Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/08/28/how-colleges-are-battling-sexual-violence

· The Greek System: How Gender Inequality and Class Privilege Perpetuate Rape Culture (2017) Retrieved from https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/fare.12229