Sexual Harassment in College Campuses
When Emily Costello, aged 20, makes the walk home from her evening classes at Humber College Lakeshore on Tuesdays, she says she always feels tired, she’s occasionally cold, and, more recently, she’s nervous.
Her uneasiness has been brought on by multiple instances of “catcalling”, meaning men have made sexual comments towards her as she’s walking by them. There was even one night where a man approached her, and put his arm around her as he tried to get her to go home with him. “It was probably the third week that I had to walk back by myself when things started to happen,” says Costello, “It hasn’t happened a lot of times, but more than once, and after that guy actually touched me I’ve felt super creeped out.”
The act of catcalling that Costello and other girls on the Humber College campus have complained about may seem someone innocent, as there isn’t any physical contact involved. However, women are saying that the comments are getting more and more explicit, and the catcallers are getting more and more aggressive. When asked what the rudest thing shouted at her was, one girl refused to repeat it, only saying “He basically said he wanted to have sex with me, but in a way more disgusting way. It was embarrassing.”
When asked what their usual reactions to the comments were, most girls said that they simply ignored the men. Though some pointed out that the catcallers sometimes can get aggressive and mean when they’ve been rejected. “I’ve been called things like slut and whore lots of times after ignoring a guy or telling him off,” says Melissa Tester, aged 19.
Humber security can be seen all over campus, and the pathways between sections are lined with emergency call buttons that students can use to call for help. With these kinds of precautions on campus, one wonders why these incidents continue to happen. When speaking to members of the security staff on campus, they feel that the campus is very safe. One member of security staff says “Sure we see that sort of stuff every once in awhile, but generally this campus is safe and if a student ever feels like they’re in danger there’s 24 hour help available.” I’ve reached out to officials from the campus and head of security, but there has not been a response from either of them.
On the Humber College website, there is an outline of a Sexual Assault and Sexual Violence Procedure which states that victims of sexual violence should report the incident to either campus security or police services, and that Health and Counselling Services can be contacted as well if less urgent medical and counselling is needed. The page also lists several other resources, including a survivor-led Sexual Assault & Sexual Violence Support Group. Sexual violence is a violation of both the Code of Student Conduct and “will be addressed in a manner which is consistent with other serious offences”.
Though this is true at Humber, and likely other colleges and universities, targets of sexual harassment often claim that they don’t feel comfortable coming forward about the incidents. When an instance of sexual harassment takes place, it may seem like telling someone who can do something about it is a logical thing to do. “Girls don’t say anything because it’s scary and not really something you want everyone to know about,” says Costello, “Victims are blamed a lot when this stuff happens and we see things in the news about victims being treated like liars all the time. It can be bad for your reputation.” While there has been increased media attention on sex crimes, both within and beyond school campuses, it still seems to be a prevalent issue in society. Newer statistics from 2015 are saying that 20% of women and 5% of men in college or university will be victims of a sex crime before they graduate.
Though Emily Costello says that she loves attending college and these instances will not be deterring her from studies, she doesn’t feel comfortable being on her own once the sun goes down. She says she’ll be sure to travel in groups until exams finish at the end of April, and hopefully September can somehow bring a change. In her final words on the subject, she says “I just don’t get it. I don’t feel flattered when a guy yells at me that I have a nice ass, I feel uncomfortable. I hope people realize how gross it is and stop.”
(Written April 2016)
