13% of all graduate and undergraduate students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.
This is a sad and disturbing statistic, but it is an unfortunate reality. When getting ready to go off to college, students should ideally be thinking about finding clubs to join, where to go buy their books, what their class schedule looks like, and learning to navigate campus. More and more, there is a growing focus on safety, especially surrounding sexual violence. While a school or institution can actively take steps toward prevention and educate students and the community about campus violence, no one can 100% prevent it from occurring. This makes it that much more important to know how to protect yourself and how to provide support to survivors.
Facts and Figures to Know
- If you experience sexual assault, it is never your fault, and you are not alone.
- Sexual Violence is more prevalent at college, compared to other crimes.
- More than 50% of college sexual assaults occur in either August, September, October, or November. This high-risk period is referred to as the Red Zone.
- Women ages 18-24 who are college students are 3 times more likely than women in general to experience sexual violence.
- Male college-aged students (18-24) are 78% more likely than non-students of the same age to be a victim of rape or sexual assault.
- 21% of TGQN (transgender, genderqueer, nonconforming) college students have been sexually assaulted, compared to 18% of non-TGQN females, and 4% of non-TGQN males.
- 8 out of 10 rapes are committed by someone known to the victim.
Safety & Prevention
Preventing sexual violence is a community effort, and knowledge and awareness are powerful tools in reaching that goal. Understanding what consent should look like is definitely key information to have and to share. An easy acronym to help remember and teach what consent looks like is: Consent = FRIES!
Especially when it comes to consent, “NO” is a complete sentence. If someone isn’t respecting your “NO” and are trying to change your answer by way of mental, emotional, or physical coercion, they are not a safe person to be around. “NO” is also a boundary, and if someone won’t respect your boundaries, they are showing that they won’t respect you.
Something else to be mindful of, especially when going out or partying, is there may be an increased risk of sexual violence occurring due to the involvement of drugs or alcohol. Consent cannot be given when an individual is under the influence, and regardless of what or how much a victim consumes, they are not responsible for their assault. When going out, create a plan with trusted friends to help keep each other safe. These plans can include things like:
–Travelling in groups,
–Not leaving your food or drinks unattended,
–Avoiding consuming any food/drink from open containers or that are offered to you, and
–Having a plan to get everyone home at the end of the night, such as an agreed upon time to leave, arranging transportation in advance, and having predetermined drop-off destinations.
Another good step to take for your safety is to educate yourself on resources available on or around campus that can be accessed, so that if something should occur, you are already familiar with the options available for support.
Supporting Survivors
Should you or someone you care about become a victim of sexual assault, it is important to know that the victim is never responsible for their assault, and that the fault lies with those who made the choice to commit the assault. When someone discloses having been assaulted, the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN) suggests utilizing the TALK method for support. Given how underreported sexual violence can be, it’s all the more vital to ensure that survivors receive appropriate and compassionate support if they do choose to disclose to someone.
Above all else, know that as a survivor, you are not alone and support is just a phone call away. AVRC provides confidential support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. AVRC also does not require that a victimization be reported to law enforcement in order for someone to be able to access services. If you or someone you care about has been a victim of sexual violence, or if you would like to learn more about how you can help, call AVRC today!
415 Colorado Avenue, La Junta, CO 81050
(719) 384-7764
TTY: (719) 384-1938
After Hours Colorado Relay dial 711 or 1-800-659-2656
Statistics, TALK Method provided by: RAINN
https://rainn.org/
AVRC is non-discriminatory agency regarding age, race, religion, color, gender, country of national origin, sexual orientation, mental health status, substance use or economic condition.