Brownmiller.
She was referring to a dating situation
Sexual Assault
Prevention on College
Campuses: Education
By: Brittany Divver
I am a Penn State Greek woman and I am
concerned by the frequent sexual assault that happens
national wide on college campuses. We have become so
desensitize to the rape culture that surrounds our higher
education that it looks like we have accepted its part in our
communities. I say we because I am at fault as well. I have
caught myself for overlooking and turning a blind eye to the
weekly alerts of a forcible sex offense. I have witnessed
situations where I felt too uncomfortable and afraid to say
anything about it. I am part of the problem, along with
millions of college students who feel there is nothing that can
be done about these occurrences. However, this semester, I
have grown. I can no longer sit back as my friends and fellow
students feel unsafe in a place we call home for 4 years. We
must start taking some initiative to stopping these weekly
messages of sexual assault reports because its not just an
alert but it is a persons life. We cant just sit back and go
about our days. These are your friends and family that are
being directly affected. You do not want to be the father or
mother that has to listen to their child explain a rape that
happened while they were away from home for the first time.
Its time for solution. Its time for change. Its time for
action.
Historical Background
Sexual assault has been a problem for many
years and even though its gotten recently more
attention, sexual assault on college campuses has a
history. Starting with in February 1957, one of the
first published studies about campus sexual assault,
Male Sex Aggression on a University Campus
appears in the American Sociological Review. Its
appears controversial at the time but paved the way
for sexual assault to start being a topic of discussion.
In the 50s, women still were a minority to the higher
education scene and as more women attended college
the opportunity of a rape occurring also increased. In
1975, the slang date rape was coined by Susan
in which an aggressor may press his advantage to the
point where pleasantness quickly turns to
unpleasantness and more than the woman bargained
for, according to Womens Studies Encyclopedia,
Vol. 1. She changed the view that rape was only done
by the scary stranger behind the bush but more
commonly but the people you know. In 1985, Ms.
Magazine and Mary R. Koss, then a psychology
professor at Kent State University in Ohio, surveyed
more than 6,100 undergraduate women and men for
one of the largest scientific studies of date rape at that
time. The survey revealed that one in four female
college students had an experience that met the legal
definition of rape or attempted rape. As society
realized its misinterpretation of what rape is and can
be in the form of, more people began to listen and
come forward. In 1994, the results of the study
became the foundation for the book, I Never Called
It Rape, by Robin Warshaw. Till the May of 2011, all
was quiet but for a couple cases here and there then,
60 minutes did a piece on infamous story of Beckett
Brennan, a woman attending the University of the
Pacific in Stockton, Calif, who was raped in 2008 by 3
men on the mens basketball team. Also in this
month, the fraternity, Delta Kappa Epsilon, was
suspended from the Yale for 5 years for making their
pledges chant through campus saying, No means yes,
yes means anal and for carrying a sign that read We
love Yale sluts. In 2014, twenty-three Columbia
University students file complaints with the federal
government charging systematic mishandling of
sexual assault claims and mistreatment of victims by
the university. The White House Task Force to Protect
Students from Sexual Assault releases its first report,
Not Alone. The report defines the problem of
campus sexual assault and offers the White Houses
first set of action steps and recommendations. This is
the first time you see the White House taking federal
responsibility on what happens on public college
campuses. In 2015, Erica Kinsman, a former Florida
State student, filed a lawsuit against Jameis Winston
for rape in 2012, when he was the football teams
quarterback. Mr. Winston won the Heisman Trophy
during the 2013-2014 season. He never received any
questioning by the Tallahassee Police Department. In
January 2015, Ms. Kinsman sued Florida State, which
had cleared Mr. Winston. The president at the time
was our very own current Penn State president Eric
Barron, who had final say on the Winston case. These
were only a few examples of this decades high
attention rape and sexual assault cases but there are
thousands
more with
their own
tragic stories
like Brock
Turner and
the
Vanderbilt
football
players.
These cases
may seem to
be rare and
extreme
stories but
the truth is
were not even being told the worst of the worst as a
result of low ratio of the reported and the ones who
never came forward.1
Todays Facts
There have been a lot of recent surveys and
studies done on the facts surrounding sexual assault on
college campuses. According to dosomething.com, in
1 in 5 women (20%) will be sexually assaulted while
at college while only 4% of college men will be
sexually assaulted. Most college victims are assaulted
by someone they know. Victims were on a date with
the perpetrator in 12.8% of completed rapes and 35%
of attempted rapes. 42% of college women who are
raped tell no one about the assault. It is estimated that
only 5% of sexual assaults on college campuses are
reported, making sexual assault the most
underreported crime. Rape results in about 32,000
pregnancies each year. 4 out of 5 rape victims
subsequently suffer from chronic physical or
psychological conditions. 40% of rape survivors
develop sexually transmitted diseases as a result of
sexual assault. Campus perpetrators are often serial
offenders. Over a third of women who are raped as
minors are also raped as adults. 42% of raped women
expect to be raped again. Juveniles (youth ages 17 and
under) account for almost 90% of male victims in
every type of sex crime. 99% of people who rape are
men. Students living in sorority houses and on-
campus dormitories are 3 times and 1.4 times
(respectively) more likely to be raped than students
living off-campus. According to campus safety
magazine, only about 2% of all sexual assault
accusations reported to police turn out to be false.
This is the same rate of false reporting as other types
of violent crimes. 2
43% of the sexual victimization incidents
involve alcohol consumption by victims and 69%
involve alcohol consumption by the perpetrators.
With the binge drinking culture on American college
campus, we must focus on the facts surrounding rape
and alcohol abuse. In 1 in 3 sexual assaults, the
perpetrator was intoxicated. At least 50% of college
student sexual assaults are associated with alcohol use.
Women from colleges with medium and high binge-
drinking rates had more than a 1.5-fold increased
chance of being raped while intoxicated than those
from schools with low binge-drinking rates. Women
who had practiced binge-drinking in high school had
an increased likelihood of rape while intoxicated.
Many women (88%) have never consumed a drink left
unattended or consumed a drink given to them by a
stranger (76%). In the Campus Sexual Assault (CSA)
Study, one-quarter of the sample (25%) reported
consuming alcohol or drugs before sex at least once a
month, and slightly fewer (23%) were drunk or high
during sex at least once a month. Also, according to
the CSA study, sexual assaults were most likely to
occur in September, October and November, on
Friday or Saturday nights, and between the hours of
midnight and 6:00 a.m. 3College freshmen and
sophomore women appear to be at greater risk of
being victims of sexual assault than are
upperclassmen. 84% of the women who reported
sexually coercive experiences experienced the
incident during their first four semesters on campus.
3
This is probably due to the lack of familiar faces and
friends to have your back in a dangerous situation like
rape. They are also more likely to abuse alcohol given
they have yet to be desensitized to it and still find
stimulus in the rebellious act of binge drinking. Rape
survivors are 13 times more likely to attempt suicide
than are people who have not been victims of a crime.
4
30% of the college women who said they had been
raped contemplated suicide after the incident. Rape is
defined as a criminal offense defined in most states as
forcible sexual relations with a person against that
person's will.5
Current Programs
There are 5 main programs that stuck out while
researching. Each program varied in approach, topic
focus, and time committed. With these variation,
many results showed significant differences in success
rates. The programs were researched and analyzed by
Kimberly Lonsway (American Bar Foundation)
extensively.6
Acquaintance Rape Prevention Program (ARPP)
focused on the awareness of sexual assault, correcting
myths, and fostering effective sexual communication.
Its only a 60-minute program but in that time, there
are informational videos, resources, and a group
discussion that concentrates on the prevention of
sexual assault. This program was seen as successful
for it, reduced sexual assault for women without
previous history of victimization and reduced
acquaintance rape. It did not reduce sexual assault
among women with a history of victimization. 7
Sexual Assault Risk Reduction Program (SARRP) was
centered around educating the participants on the
myths of sexual assault, how to help a victim not have
it happen again, and practical prevention techniques.
Through a 90-minute program, students were shown
a scenario where prevention techniques were not used
then there was a group discussion on the situation and
the phycological effects. Next, they were shown the
same scenario with the techniques used and
succeeding at preventing a dangerous situation. Last,
they have another group discussion on what they just
saw. They follow up the program with a post-test.
This program was ineffective in preventing sexual
assault among its participants. They also didnt change
the social behavior or improve the sexual
communication by the participants. Women with a
history of sexual assault victimization reported more
dating risk behavior.8
Sexual Assault Education Program (SAEP) was solely
intended for preventing sexual assault victimization.
The program was about an hour and involved groups
of 30 people. It was lecture style with group
discussion where they discussed the main educational
point of sexual assault prevention including six-point
redefinition of rape (act of violence and power,
humiliating and degrading, community issue for men
and women). Participants showed a greater
knowledge of sexual assault at the 7-month follow-up
period but did not succeed in decreasing incidences of
sexual assault. 9
Campus Acquaintance Rape Education (CARE) is a
semester long course put on by the university. The
course is designed around leadership building,
exploring the situations where acquaintance rape
occurs, becoming familiar with campus resources, and
familiar with the facts on sexual assault. After the
semester course, they were given post-course then
follow up survey two years later. CARE group
experienced changes in beliefs and rape culture in
general. CARE students are also less accepting of the
rape culture on their campus according to surveys at 2
year follow up. The men and women of the course
both successfully increases their sexual
communication following the course. 10
How to Help a Sexual Assault Survivors (HSAS) Resources
objective is to decrease acceptance of rape myths and
decrease the amount of men that reported they would
use force on a woman to gain sex. This one is a one
hour program for men only where they define rape,
discourage jokes on rape and women, and learn how
to help a victim of sexual assault. After the initial
program, there is a post-program follow up 2 months
later. The program reportingly decreased rape myths
acceptance and 59% of men reported to be less likely
sexually coercive. 11
Penn State specific:
These are just a few but it was clear that some Reporting it:
programs had obvious success and then there were Title IX Coordinator, Paul W. Apicella
others you would ask why even bother. I think by pua26@psu.edu
studying what works and hasnt worked to decrease (814) 867-0099 (office)
the sexual assault rates on college campuses, we can
create a program that can make a dramatic difference Medical assistance:
in the life and safety of your college students.12 Ambulance
911
Future Solutions University Health Services
(814) 863-4463
As I discussed above, we can create a program that Mount Nittany Medical Center
we know will succeeded by studying what has and (814) 231-7000
hasnt worked in the past. Successful programs like
ARPP, CARE, and HSAS, all had aspects that made Emotional support:
them work to achieve their objectives. HSAS had a CAPS Contact: 814.863.0395
unique direction by focusing on the men only when located in the Student Health Center
dealing with sexual assault. They met their objectives CAPS Chat:
but it is hard to say if it actually decreases sexual located in 202 Redifer Commons
assault. CARE was the longest program, for it was a Schedule:
semester course all focused around sexual assault, Monday: 10am 12pm
ways to prevent, and get help. CARE requires the Tuesday: 2-4pm
most effort, however, if strictly enforced by a Wednesday: 2-4pm
university as a required class, there is evidence that it Thursday: 2-4pm
could significantly the sexual assault rates of said Friday: 10am-12pm
university. The goal is to make it a priority to stop Centre County CAN HELP: 1.800.643.5432
sexual assault and continue to make it a priority
throughout the year. I believe the one hour class for Transportation:
freshmen are just not enough to make a dramatic AA Taxi
change but implicating both the CARE semester long (814) 231-TAXI
course and the all men focused program, HSAS, you or (814) 231-8294
can start seeing a change in the statistics on sexual Handy Delivery
assaults on college campuses.13 (814) 353-6001
Nittany Express
(814) 867-4647
Safe Walk Service
(814) 865-WALK
or (814) 865-9255

Nationally recognized resources:

National Sexual Violence Resource Center Hotline :
1-877-739-3895
Rape Abuse Incest National Network (RAINN)
National Sexual Assault Hotline : 1-800-656-HOPE
(4673)
Safe Helpline for Sexual Assault Support for the DoD
Community : 1-877-995-5247

1
SAAM Hstory PsycEXTRA Dataset (n.d.): n.
pg. National Sexual Violence Resource Center.
Web
"Facts about Sexual Violence." PsycEXTRA
2

Dataset (n.d.): n. pag. National Sexual Violence

Resource Center. Web.
3
Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics | RAINN." program to train peer facilitators for campus
Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, n.d. acquaintance rape education. Journal of Interpersonal
Web. 03 April. 2017. Violence, 13, 73-92.

Sexual Assault Overview FindLaw, n.pg: Thomson

4

Reuters. Web.
Sexual Assault Education University of Central
5

Arkansa, Counseling center n pg. Web.

6
Anderson, L., Stoelb, M., Duggan, P., Hieger, B.,
Kling, K., & Payne, J. (1998). The effectiveness of
two types of rape prevention programs in changing
the rape-supportive attitudes of college students.
Journal of College Student Development, 39, 131-
142.
7
Breitenbecher, K.H. & Gidycz, C. (1998). An
empirical evaluation of a program designed to reduce
the risk of multiple sexual victimization. Journal of
Interpersonal Violence, 13, 472-488.
8
Breitenbecher, K.H. and Scarce, M. (1999). A
longitudinal evaluation of the effectiveness of a sexual
assault education program. Journal of Interpersonal
Violence, 14, 459-478.
9
Foubert, J.D. and Marriott, K.A. (1997). Effects of
a sexual assault peer education program on mens
belief in rape myths. Sex Roles, 36 259-268.
10
Hanson, K. & Gidycz, C. (1993). Evaluation of a
sexual assault prevention program. Journal of
Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 1046-1052.
Heppner, M.J., Humphrey C.F., Hillenbrand-
11

Gunn, T.L., and DeBord, K. A. (1995). The

differential effects of rape prevention programming
on attitudes, behavior and knowledge. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 42, 508-518.

12
Heppner, M.J., Neville, K.S., Kivlighan, D.M., &
Gershuny, B.S. (1999). Examining immediate and
long-term efficacy of rape prevention programming
with racially diverse college men. Journal of
Counseling Psychology, 46, 16-26.
Lonsway, K., Klaw, E., Berg, D., Waldo, C.,
13

Kothari, C., Mazurek, C., & Hegeman, K. (1998).

Beyond no means no: Outcomes of an intensive