college rape prevention
There’s no way around it, college rape statistics are disturbing.
- One in four college women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.
- One in eight women will be raped while in college.
- College women are most vulnerable to rape during the first few weeks of the freshman and sophomore years.
- 78% of the men identified (as rapists) were an acquaintance, friend or boyfriend of the victims.
- 51 - 60% of college men report they would rape a woman if they were certain that they could get away with it.
(College rape statistics source source 2)
Since we believe that there are steps you can proactively take to prevent becoming a victim of sexual assault while in college, this blog is dedicated to sharing back to school tips on how to stay safe in college.
- Take a self defense class. Learn how to defend yourself from someone who tries to attack you. Carry pepper spray and be aware of your surroundings at all times.
- Watch your drink at parties. The unfortunate reality is that there are rapists who drug college girls’ drinks to prevent you from fighting back. To stay safe, avoid the punch bowl, don’t leave your drink alone, and take care in accepting drinks from strangers.
- Avoid excessive drinking. We all know that alcohol can impair our judgment. Drinking too much can place you in a very vulnerable situation where your ability to resist sexual advances is limited.
- Have a buddy system. Having someone to look out for you at a party will help improve your chances of safety. Keep them in your line of sight.
- If you feel unsafe, leave. Always trust your gut. If you’re at a party and start feeling unsafe, call a friend or a taxi and leave.
- Report the crime. Unfortunately only 10% of college women who are raped actually report the crime to the authorities. Since many sexual predators rape more than one woman, reporting them to the authorities will help prevent them from hurting anyone else. If you have been a victim of a sexual assault, bring a supportive friend with you to the police station to report the crime.
Ok, so now can we have a post now about actual college rape prevention? As in where the people who commit rape are addressed. Like 6 safety tips on how not to be a rapist? Example, don’t drink too much a parties, you’re judgment becomes impaired and you may rape someone. Or take a class on consensual sex to learn what is and isn’t ok. The have a buddy system is a great idea! Ask a friend to make sure you don’t start being too aggressive towards girls… Do you see where I’m going with this? Per the stats cited in the article, we need to teach men how to not to rape their friends.
Thanks for your thoughts, Airial. I see where you’re coming from with a “how not to be a rapist” blog post and you bring up some excellent points (don’t drink too much, learn proper boundaries, take a friend with you to parties). This seems to hearken back to having a good mother who instills a moral compass and teaches her children to be respectful of other people, doesn’t it? We learn within society that these things are inherently wrong, don’t we? I’m afraid the unfortunate reality is that people who plan to rape will probably not be googling “how not to” tips. You bring up an interesting idea though to educate men along with women on rape prevention.
You’re absolutely right that it is up to mother’s to raise their children to have a moral compass, especially when it comes to sexuality. This how I talk to my son’s about their treatment and perceptions of female sexuality: http://magazine.goodvibes.com/2011/03/21/slut-shaming-on-the-playground/
However, I still believe that platforms such as this blog can be used to instill values into men that confronts misogynistic beliefs about women. Instead of rehashing the same victim-blaming “tips” that have been around for 20 years and have done nothing to keep women safe on college campuses (because victims can’t prevent rape) maybe provide resources for men who are not under the supervision of their parents for the first time. The tips posted here tell women to monitor their behavior and police themselves in a way that men are not expected to. Maybe we should acknowledge that men may not know how to respect women in the college environment. That conversation in itself would be useful.
What is unfortunate is that we don’t all learn that rape is wrong. Our society is rife with examples of “she asked for it” and “he couldn’t help it.” We learn it is wrong to be raped and you’re post is contributing to that social conditioning.
Airial, since it’s clear you are very passionate about this topic, I would invite you to write a guest post on the topic for our blog. Is this something you would be open to?
We have some differences in perceptions because this blog post was not written to contribute to the toxic to the social conditioning you mentioned, but instead as a resource to show women how they can be pro-active in their safety by following the steps outlined.
As Executive Director of a non-profit self-defense training provider I was thrilled to see someone get the stats right! Airial’s right, there should be training on how not to be a rapist - or how to be decent because I believe most men are and want to be. Until that day comes, it’s up to us and the men who care about us.
For our grads, that one in four drops to one in thirty and that one reports back to us about successfully fighting or talking her way out of the situation. I encourage all your readers to visit http://www.impactpersonalsafety.com and find a class that fits your schedule. We have chapters all over the world so chances are there’s one near your college or university.
Thank you for the invitation, I would be happy to. There are several organizations that I can pull information from and provide links to in a post that I hope would be beneficial.
Wonderful! I will email you and we can take it from there. Thanks!
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how about we start teaching men to rape and stop the victim blaming that just furthers the rape culture?
men to NOT rape***** is what that was supposed to say
Did you mean stop teaching men to rape? I agree with your second point.
That makes more sense! Thanks for the clarification.