Don’t Judge Colleges Based on Rape Reports

With the Stanford attacker in the headlines because he raped a young woman while she was unconscious and received a ridiculously lenient sentence of just 6 months in jail and probation, everyone’s talking about sexual assault crimes on college campuses.  That’s a good thing.

We’re trying to open the dialogue about sexual and gender-based violence so that victims will feel supported as they come forward.  Everyone knows that rape victims who speak out about their attacks typically find themselves belittled and chastised as defense attorneys try to paint an image of the victim’s promiscuity as if she asked to be raped. This is why reports of rape on college campuses have been widely underrepresented. 

So when the Washington Post wrote “These colleges have the most reports of rape,” I cringed. Readers will comb the lists of colleges to see which ones have the most reported rapes, which may change their pristine images.  No, I am not trying to play down the importance of publishing these huge numbers.  It is appalling that Ivy League and other prestigious colleges rank in the top 10 with 40+ rapes per year.

The reason I cringe is that these colleges probably don’t have more rapes than other colleges.  Instead, they have probably created a comfortable and supportive atmosphere on campus where victims of rape tell authorities and press charges against their attackers.  So the reason for the recent increase in rapes on campus may really just be the fact that at these particular colleges, more victims are comfortable with coming forward and being counted.

According to the Washington Post, one in five women say they have been sexually assaulted while in college. As you review the list of colleges, keep in mind that all of these colleges have underreported numbers – even the top 10 colleges with the most reported rapes. The sooner sexual assault victims are treated like victims, and rapists are treated like perpetrators and criminals, the sooner we’ll see a decline in attacks on college campuses.  For tips about how to protect yourself against rape, check out this blog I wrote.