COMMENTARY: Is awareness of sexual assault on campus enough?

The college experience has notoriously been synonymous with rape culture and sexual assault. Sexual assault on college campuses is omnipresent, and student or not, college-age adults are at high risk for becoming victims of sexual assault. The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network (RAINN) reports on its website that sexual violence is more prevalent compared to other types of crime at colleges and universities.

The University of Houston Clear-Lake (UHCL) has only been a four-year institution since 2014, and so far, lacks the “high risk” organizations that are commonly associated with sexual violence on college campuses such as Greek Life and prominent athletics.

Campus Safety Magazine states that fraternity men have been identified as being more likely to perpetrate sexual assault or sexual aggression than non-fraternity men. Campus Safety Magazine also reports that men who participated in aggressive sports scored higher on attitudinal measures thought to be associated with sexual coercion, including hostility toward women and rape myth acceptance.

At larger universities where Greek life and sports have been in place for generations, many are struggling to shift the existing culture that includes hazing, alcohol abuse, and sexual assault. UHCL is expanding, and to accommodate its growing student population the university has opened its first on-campus residential housing, Hunter Hall. UHCL has the unique opportunity to cultivate a Greek life, and maybe eventually an athletics culture from scratch.

Campus Safety Magazine reports that students living in on-campus housing are 1.4 times more likely to be victims of sexual assault than those living off-campus. There is currently an ongoing criminal investigation into an incident of fondling that was reported on Aug. 27 at Hunter Hall, which has only been occupied by students since Aug. 22.

Currently, there are multiple ways to report sexual misconduct at UHCL. You can do so online by filling out a form at https://www.uhcl.edu/policies/title-ix/reporting, in-person by visiting the Title IX coordinator’s office in the Bayou Building, Room 2323, or over the phone by using the Fraud & Non-Compliance Hotline at 1-800-461-9330 (in the U.S.) or +1-720-514-4400 (internationally). If there is a threat of immediate danger contact the UHCL Police department (281-281-2222).

Once reported, UHCL’s internal response is guided largely by the wishes and preferences of the reporting party. In addition to an internal investigation, the reporting party may choose to pursue resolution through civil and/or criminal processes in addition to or instead of pursuing the university’s internal process.

You can find additional information and resources about sexual misconduct reporting and awareness at https://www.uhcl.edu/policies/title-ix/.

There are extensive information and resources about what to do after an instance of sexual misconduct has occurred, but limited available resources to inform students about how to prevent sexual violence at UHCL. This is especially crucial because many victims of sexual misconduct do not report their crimes to law enforcement. Campus Safety Magazine reports that more than half of college women who experience sexual assault tell no one of their victimization.

Awareness is the first step in preventing sexual assault on campus, however, most experts agree that a multi-directional approach is the most effective way to protect students against sexual violence on campus. Events like “Take Back the Night” and other risk reduction strategies are effective when informing the public and raising awareness about sexual misconduct, but the more effective solution lies in action.

Bystander programs such as Green Dot teach students and faculty how to recognize high-risk situations and give them tools to intervene in situations of potential sexual misconduct. A study conducted at the University of Kentucky by the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, which had a bystander training program implemented reported that rates of sexual violence victimization were 17% less at two comparison schools that did not have similar programs in place. These programs are effective in shifting behaviors and attitudes that cultivate collegiate rape culture.

Resistance programs such as the Enhanced Assess, Acknowledge, Act (EAAA) are based on feminist psycho-social theory and give students tools to resist coercion and learn effective verbal and physical self-defense strategies. Evidence suggests that resistance programs are effective in preventing sexual assault. Psychology of Women Quarterly reports that students who participated in this program were 30 to 64% less likely to experience rape, attempted rape or nonconsensual sexual contact.

UHCL currently employs mandatory reporting training for all employees but lacks campus-wide preventative programs such as Green Dot and EAAA. The most profound method of prevention is institutional cultural change, which has yet to be established at UHCL.

As the university continues to grow, and with talk of Greek Life coming to campus, UHCL must capitalize on the unique opportunity to initiate a healthy residential life including evidence-backed sexual assault prevention programs like Green Dot and EAAA.