Another school year has set in at the University of British Columbia. Campus is buzzing with new and returning students as classes settle into full swing. Amidst all of the hustle and bustle occurring at UBC, it is difficult to forget that just last year the university experienced a string of violent sexual assaults on campus.
There were six reports of campus assaults taking place between April 19, 2013 and October 19, 2013 on female students walking on campus. The RCMP announced that the same perpetrator committed all of these attacks.
Suddenly the topic of sexual assault became a pressing issue on campus. Media outlets zoomed their attention to UBC and how the school was responding to the attacks.Yet almost a year later, it appears that campus life has returned to its regular hustle and bustle.
Nevertheless, improving safety of staff and students on campus must be at the forefront of UBC’s agenda of the focus on security measures.
The UBC community cannot brush the topic of sexual assault to the side. This is a prominent and important issue that must be paid attention to because the truth is, it still happens on campus. Often, there is a misconception that sexual assault occurs at night when an individual is walking alone and the perpetrator is imagined as a shadowy figure hiding in the bushes. But in reality, assault can happen at parties, bars, in residences, and even in a relationship where the perpetrator happens to be someone’s partner.
When the campus attacks were a focal point in the media, much of the focus surrounding the assaults was turned into cautionary warning to students (especially female identifiers) to not walk alone at night, and be cautious of their surroundings at all times. Though being aware of one’s safety is extremely important, there is much more to the topic of sexual assault that must be discussed on campus in order to educate students and staff about sexualized violence.
Moreover, it seems that there is a culture of sexual violence that is embedded into university culture, and this needs to change. Last year, reports of rape chants occurring on Canadian college campuses in Canada made headlines. UBC was one of the schools that these chants occurred. The incident took place last year during a Sauder school of Business FROSH event where students repeated a chant that ‘jokingly’ promoted nonconsensual sex with underage girls.
Consent is a word that is widely used when speaking about safe and healthy intimate relationships, and it is crucial to understand what it means. Consent, by definition, is an enthusiastic and freely given yes (when engaging in intimate relations) and is something that must be continuously negotiated within any relationship, regardless of how causal the partnership may be. Furthermore, consent cannot legally be given if an individual is drunk, high or incapacitated, and this ties in greatly with the culture of partying that is part of campus life.
However, there is still a lack of understanding regarding consent and its importance. A report from York University highlights that 60% of Canadian college-aged males indicated that they would commit an act of sexual assault if they were certain they would not get caught. Another national survey reported that 20% of male students believed that forced sex was acceptable if someone spends money on a date, if the person on the date was high or drunk, or if the individuals had been dating for a long period of time.
The violence that took place last year at UBC cannot be treated as a one-time incident. More than 80% of sexual assaults that occur on college campuses are committed by someone known to the victim, with half of these incidences occurring on dates.
Data collected in Canada has shown that out of every 100 incidences of sexual assault, only 6 are reported to police. This number highlights that there is so much occurring under the surface that we, as the general public, are not informed about. When an individual reports an assault to authorities, there are many more survivors who keep silent.
Sexual assault is a serious crime that can happen to anyone, anywhere and at any time. As a campus community, we cannot solely rely on improvements in security measures to combat sexual violence. To truly make an effort to combat these crimes, we cannot simply be bystanders. Just because there are no reports of sexual assaults at the moment does not mean they are not happening. We must continue educate each other about the crucial importance of consent, and the framework of university culture must change so that students and staff become allies against sexual violence. This change comes with us making an an active effort to continuously educate ourselves on sexual violence and how we can take a stand against it.
To learn more about how you can be an ally against sexual violence, visit the AMS Sexual Assault Support Center’s website for information and resources.