Student sex assault survey worrying
The Survey that revealed that one in four women students has been sexually assaulted is deeply disturbing.
And the grim picture on our campuses is the damning fact that one in seven females has been the victim of serious sexual assault or serious physical violence while at university or college.
And it gets worse given that 50 per cent felt too ashamed or embarrassed to report it to the police and 43 per cent thought they would be blamed for what happened.
We may have more women than ever going to university but we haven't come very far as a society when educated women who have been seriously sexually assaulted, harassed and stalked, in many cases by fellow students, believe the odds are against them because it's weighted in the man's favour. And they are right.
Too many of those 2,000 young women who took part in the National Union of Students Hidden Marks survey, out last week, are brushing such assaults under the carpet.
How very sad that only four per cent of women students who have been seriously sexually assaulted have reported it to their institution and only 10 per cent to the police.
But I'm not surprised. It's their first time away from home and they don't want to make a song and dance or make a name for themselves even if they have been raped.
Of those who faced sexual assault, five per cent said they had been raped while two per cent were victims of attempted rape.
Speak up or indeed tell anyone on the campus of an assault, major or minor, and you run the risk of being singled out, shunned even by the in-crowd.
It's difficult and hard being a lone voice but this is a wake-up call for girls not to be compromised when after a few drinks a fella comes on to them with unwanted advances.
That's the time not to laugh it off but tell him to stop.
Young women may well be scared to report the wrong because of repercussions but the message must go out to them that they must assert themselves and not accept any violation of their bodies.
NUS Women's Officer Olivia Bailey has stressed how more needs to be done to give victims the confidence to come forward.
That is the crux and that's the challenge facing colleges and universities to grasp this nettle and put it well and truly on a platform so that students know such assaults will not be tolerated.
Sandra Horley, chief executive of national domestic violence charity Refuge, said: "It is vital that universities create an environment where women feel confident to speak out against abuse.
"Women students need to know where they can seek help, and must feel sure that their reports will be taken seriously."
Very true. However, as long as the perception exists that sexual abuse is par for the course, our female students are seen as fair game.
This is a long overdue wake-up call and much more needs to be done so women don't blame themselves and don't think twice about reporting an assault.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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