Justine Miller
Executive Editor
One in every four women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted every year. April is national Sexual Assault Awareness month and Keene State College is taking strides to confront the issue.
According to the Coordinator for Sexual Violence Prevention and Education Forrest Seymour, what actually gets reported to Campus Safety is just a handful of the total incidents.
“Sexual assault is any unwanted physical contact of a sexual nature. It’s a broad term that covers any unwanted sexual contact of any sort,” Seymour said.
According to Director of Campus Safety Amanda Warman, people may look at sexual assault as a women’s issue but it’s a community issue.
“Sexual assault is the most under-reported crime. We generally get anywhere from three to six reports a year and that includes rape and sexual assault, “ she said.
According to Warman, the issue is not necessarily the identity of the perpetrator but whether or not there was consent. The person who is the reporter can decide what they want to do.
“Go to the police, go forward with the conduct process, or if they really just want [counseling] services,” she said. “That person has been deprived of the most personal choice that they have in their life. We want to set as a priority the ability to hand choices back to the person that’s reporting.”
Warman said if the reporter does not want to talk to the police, she will report the incident to the Keene Police Department anonymously on the victim’s behalf.
“I won’t give them the name but I will tell them the date it occurred and the location because you don’t want to protect anybody who may be a predator and we also don’t want to not share that information with the local police,” she said.
In regards as to why sexual assault is highly under-reported, Warman said it’s because it’s such a personal violation.
“Sometimes they don’t realize that what happened meets the technical definition of sexual assault. They may feel some guilt because alcohol or drugs might have been involved. That doesn’t negate the fact that a crime was committed,” she said. “They might have been sexually assaulted by someone they’re dating, someone they love, a family member, and they don’t want to get that person in trouble. They don’t think if that person’s my boyfriend or husband they can’t be charged with rape. They can. That relationship does not protect the rapist.”
One anonymous KSC student shared their own personal experience with sexual assault.
“I went out with a bunch of friends, I had a lot to drink, saw a man in the crowd, pursued him. I wanted to make out with him. He brought me into a room and I thought that’s what we were going to do, but he ended up pushing me and making me do things that I didn’t want to happen,” the source continued. “He put his hand on my head and it took me about 20 seconds to realize what was happening. I said no and he continued.”
According to this source, they didn’t confront what happened until two years later because they thought it was their own fault.
“Initially when it happened to me I thought it was my fault. I thought people would accuse me of dressing too scandalous or even being too drunk or too forward, which I own up to. I know those are mistakes I personally made but the situation that happened in the other room I had no control over. That was his decision,” the source said.
This source said they chose not to report it because they not only felt ashamed, but also because they did not want to get caught up in court either.
“There are so many sexual assaults that are reported and nothing ever happens to them. Instead, I’d rather be an advocate for freshman students and just letting them know it’s not their fault. I decided to pursue educating others instead,” the source said.
Another issue the source mentioned was that the perpetrator was on a recruitment trip and still in high school. The source admitted being worried had they reported it that they would of actually been accused of statutory rape.
According to Warman, everyone has a responsibility to be an active bystander and to act.
“It might just be to pick up the phone, or intercede, or call the police. Everyone has a responsibility to decrease the incidents of sexual violence,” she said.
According to Seymour, the active bystander approach is the idea that 90 percent of the time there are four different parties involved in a sexual assault.
“The targeted victim, the perpetrator, the facilitator or wingman, and all the other people, the bystanders. The idea is that we are all bystanders to sexual assault,” he said. “We can all intervene to prevent sexual assault before they happen if we stay alert.”
According to the Vice Present of Student Affairs Andy Robinson, there can be an academic consequence in regards to sexual assault.
“If there was a ‘he said, she said’ situation, we usually do a no contact order within the college. Two students in the same class, that could have an academic ramification because the student might not be able to attend that class,” he said.
According to Robinson, administrators at the school are aware that sexual assaults occur and they want them to be reported.
“We want people to feel safe on and off campus and we want anybody who might be a potential perpetrator to not feel safe about this,” he said. “There’s a huge education component; the key piece is awareness.”
Robinson said the school has in fact suspended students in the past for sexual misconduct.
“We want people to be aware of those kinds of issues and concerns,” he said.
According to Seymour, 90 percent of the time the victim knows the perpetrator; and in regards to the lack of reporting of sexual assaults, he said people are afraid of what will happen and they feel guilty about it.
Junior and Vice President of the Student Body Colin Daly is co-chairing the event Walk a Mile in Her Shoes.
“Forrest came to me earlier this year and asked me if I would do it because I’m really active on campus. I’m very happy to be able to do it and I’m looking forward to it,” he said.
According to Daly, as a resident assistant to first year students, a lot of people are unaware about sexual assault.
“I think it’s very important that they do [know about sexual assault]. It’s not a scary thing to go join [Walk a Mile] but I think there’s a stigma attached to it, but there’s an active role that the guys can play rather than feel uncomfortable about it,” he said.
According to Daly, students need to know that sexual assault happens around them.
“Unfortunately it’s at this college the same as it’s at every other college and they have to be able to understand it and what they can do whether their a victim or a bystander,” he said. “To know what their role is and what they can do about making the best of the situation and who they can go to.”
The anonymous source said if they could say one thing to other’s who may feel victimized as well as to educate others is simply “no means no.”
“Just because I want to make out with you doesn’t mean I want to do anything else with you. I think a lot of sexual assaults start off that way with just a friendly mutual consent, and then one of them takes it too far,” the source said.
Justine Miller can be contacted at jmiller@keeneequinox.com
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