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As we all by now know, there was a sexual assault on the Bryant University campus on the morning of September 25. This left many women on campus feeling confused and, frankly, frightened. We at Her Campus believe that this topic needs to be discussed. In particular, what is sexual assault?
According to the United States Department of Justice, sexual assault is:
               “Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape.”
This crime goes beyond some people’s idea of rape. Some women are afraid to report assault because they do not believe they do not know if they were “raped.” It is important to understand that sexual assault can also include unwanted touches or attempted rape. Sexual assault can happen at a party on a Friday night, or in your dorm on a Wednesday afternoon.
A grey area that confuses many people is sexual assault in relation to alcohol. To be clear, people can have sex while drunk without it being assault. However, sex must always be consensual. Consent is defined as “Voluntary, positive agreement between the participants to engage in specific sexual activity.” That means that sex with a person who is passed out, asleep, or mentally incapacitated qualifies as rape. If you are too drunk to say yes, this should always be taken as a no!
Some important sexual assault facts from the National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics are:
- between 20% and 25% of women are victims of completed or attempted rape during their college career
- Among college women, 9 in 10 victims of rape and sexual assault knew their offender.
- Almost 12.8% of completed rapes, 35% of attempted rapes, and 22.9% of threatened rapes happened during a date.
- It is estimated that for every 1,000 women attending a college or university, there are 35 incidents of rape each academic year. (There are 1,331 women at Bryant. This means that statistically there will be 46 rapes on our campus every year. Most will never be reported.)
- Less than 5% of completed or attempted rapes against college women were reported to law enforcement. However, in 2/3rds of the incidents the victim did tell another person, usually a friend, not family or school officials.
Her Campus wants all women to remember not be afraid to speak out. If you have been a victim of sexual assault in any form, there are resources on campus that you can contact. Â We hope that all of you stay safe and reach out for help when necessary.Â
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