Sexual Assault on College Campuses
I recently got the chance to speak with Ms. Lynne Revo-Cohen, who helped establish NewPoint Strategies, LLC., a business that specializes in high-risk management issues such as sexual assault, diversity and inclusion, as well as many other issues. Ms. Revo-Cohen has been tackling women’s issues for many years, and because of that, I wanted to get her thoughts on sexual assault and its place on college campuses.
Today, there is the notion of “college hookup culture,” or the idea that students are much more sexually active than they may have been ten or more years ago, though recent studies are beginning to prove otherwise. Ten or more years ago, the hookup scene of college students wasn’t communicated as it is today, because social media wasn’t around to do so. Social media also wasn’t around to communicate how large the issue of sexual assault on college campuses had become.
Ever since the Stanford Rape Case surfaced earlier this year and created controversy in the media, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Sure, there have been plenty of stories in the media surrounding sexual assault on college campuses before, but to me, none were as outrageous as this one.
It was outrageous for many reasons, but mainly because it proved how flawed our justice system is in regards to women’s issues and sexual assault. Many women never report rape or sexual assault, because instead of justice being served, they are forced to go to court to speak about their attack, making them feel victimized all over again.
As women, we don’t ever expect to be a victim of sexual assault. But if the justice system won’t protect us, then it’s up to us to protect ourselves.
“Be prepared.”
College is a place full of people from different backgrounds and different cultures — and most experiences and situations that students have are positive. But “if you are ever in a situation that seems to be going in a negative direction, then there are things you can do to be better prepared and help yourself have a healthy college experience.”
It’s not hard to be prepared — you just need to be aware of your surroundings, yourself, and others, and it doesn’t hurt to educate yourself on the big issues.
Alcohol is an issue that surrounds college campuses, and yet another thing that you need to be aware of. Alcohol and the overuse and influence of alcohol on college campuses gets a lot of publicity today because of how often it plays a role in sexual assault.
“It gets wrapped up into issues around consent.”
When someone is drinking excessively, quite often, they are not capable of giving consent. So, “if you get someone to agree to have sex with you and they are completely drunk, under most definitions at most colleges, that does not mean that you have consent.”
Cases like the Stanford case make it scary and complicated to be a woman, and it shouldn’t be that way. Everything is a double standard. Alcohol played a huge part in the Stanford case on many levels: the victim was intoxicated, unconscious, and unable to consent to having sex. She was drunk when she was attacked, which warrants a greater sentence for Turner. However, because he was also drunk, it was recommended that he receive a lesser sentence. But how does that make any sense?
Well, it doesn’t, and that’s the problem.
NewPoint Strategies works to try and “educate people on issues including the things that can get you into trouble surrounding the issue of sexual assault.” They are also working to give college students the tools that they need “to have healthy relationships with each other.”
“Step in and step up.”
Another thing that NewPoint teaches, which they created a mobile app for, is bystander intervention, and this is something that everyone, men and women alike, need to take note of.
The idea behind bystander intervention is that if you see something happening that seems to be going in the wrong direction — whether it’s involved with drinking, stalking, or bullying — “as the friend of the person that may become a potential victim, you’re obligated to step in and step up.”
There are three ways that a bystander can intervene: directly, indirectly, or by distraction. To intervene directly, you would speak directly to the person about to commit the wrongdoing (e.g. put a roofie in someone’s drink) and try to convince them to do otherwise and make sure they are aware of the consequences. To intervene indirectly, you could speak to a professor, campus police, or someone at the sexual assault office about something you saw or the person doing wrong. The last way, by distraction, is to distract the person doing wrong when you see it and try to keep the situation from escalating any further.
“It is never the victim’s fault.”
Quite often in sexual assault cases, especially the ones that make national and even international news, people try to blame the victim. With the Stanford case, many people set out to blame the victim, even after she wrote a letter addressing her attacker and the public as a whole.
This letter “was from the heart and showed a lot about her personal pain” and “said in a profound way the impact the incident had on her and how she felt victimized all over again” because of the trial and publicity following it. “The last person that people need to be blaming is the victim.”
If someone is sexually assaulted, they shouldn’t be made to feel like it was their fault, or that it would be a waste of time to tell someone — but cases like this do just that. Even though I don’t think justice was served in this case, the victim’s letter to Turner may make a difference for future victims of sexual assault, and that’s a big win.
The most important thing that we need to understand surrounding the issue of sexual assault as well as diversity and inclusion is that it is part of a culture that we have created — and “it won’t change by snapping our fingers.” It is a “culture that must change at every level,” starting at the top and making its way down.
“You have to confront victim blaming head-on.”
In environments where people of power and leadership roles tolerate behavior such as sexual jokes, banter, or teasing, “women are 60% more likely to become victims of sexual assault.” So when educating people, it’s important to confront victim blaming head-on. NewPoint Strategies even offers short learning scenarios called Quick Points that help to educate people on victim blaming as well as other topics.
Brock Turner’s father, who seems to have passed on his lack of education in the sexual assault sector, also wrote a letter. However, his letter was not as sincere and thought provoking as the victim’s. In his letter, he referred to his son’s offense as “20 minutes of action,” and that he therefore did not deserve a lengthy sentence.
In the Stanford case, Turner received a six-month sentence for a felony offense that many people spend years in prison for — his victim received a punishment much worse. She was assaulted by someone while unconscious, went to trial where she was forced to relive it, suffered through the sentencing where her attacker received minimal punishment, and even once she got home, her punishment didn’t end. She will remember her attacker and his minimal sentencing for the rest of her life — so I think it’s pretty safe to say that justice was not served.
Because of social media, this made national news; and because it made national news, her letter went viral, and has the power to create change in our system. But in order to create change, we need to start by educating people who are uneducated on the subject. Sure, it may be uncomfortable, but if it’ll save one more person from experiencing sexual assault, I think we can do it, right?
As cliché as it sounds,
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” — Nelson Mandela
Be prepared for anything, be aware of your surroundings, step in and step up when you can, and always confront victim blaming head-on. We can help create the change we want to see.
