One out of four before the age of 18.
One out of three in a lifetime.
One out of eight incoming freshman by the time of graduation.
As Sexual Assault Awareness Month ends, these statistics are probably a little more familiar to most students on campus, as a month-long education campaign comes to a close. But what do these numbers and all the other statistics that we hear really mean, and how much do we really understand about them? A look at the misconceptions surrounding sexual assault:
One in eight incoming freshman by the time of graduation\
Jessica* (name has been changed for privacy), a junior at UW-Madison, is included in these statistics. She was sexually assaulted this past January in her own bed, by one of her neighbors in a large, downtown Madison condominium complex popular with students.
""The problem was that I forgot to lock my door, I remember to lock my door all the time … but it was just that one time, that one night … I will never forget the things he yelled because I was so surprised … to hear these things from this person who I thought was my friend … I couldn't get him off of me and he had sex with me and it was short and painful, and then he left,"" Jessica said.
Following the sexual assault, Jessica was left with important decisions to make, but decided to stay silent in the face of the sexual assault.
""One out of 1,000 cases sees a courtroom""
""…the day after I knew what I need to do and I knew exactly the steps that I should take but I didn't take them. I didn't go to the hospital, I didn't report it … I didn't because I've been through it before and it was awful, ghastly. I guess some where inside of me I just couldn't go through it again, regardless of what I knew,"" she explained.
Jessica is the survivor of a previous sexual assault which happened to her at a friend's birthday party when she was 16. Describing the ways in which dealing with the legal system after the first sexual assault influenced her decision to stay silent about the January assault, she stressed how invasive the process was after reporting.
For many rape victims who take their cases to court, a major obstacle lies in the fact that the burden of proof rests on them, since they are the victim, the prosecutor and usually the sole witness—and the assaulter and defendant is innocent until proven guilty.
For Jessica, the District Attorney's office reported back to her that substantial evidence had not been found.
""He went on to tell me that if I went to court I would be called a liar and would most likely not win. He … pushed dropping the case and asked me if I was prepared to be called a liar and of course I wasn't, so I dropped it,"" Jessica said. ""The system is just not set up for the victim ... it's set up for the assaulter, but, God, these are things you don't say out loud. All they have to do is come up with an alibi and make sure they use a condom, and then they're pretty much clear,"" she said.
""There is a lot of pressure for victims to process legally … there is this way of thinking, that's like ‘the way I am supposed to survive is through working with the police' and that can often be very harmful for some … One out of 1,000 [rape cases] sees a courtroom and so then, what are we telling these victims? What, then, does justice look like?"" said Carmen Hotvedt, a violence crime specialist with University Health Services.
When a case is reported, it goes to the District Attorney's office, which decides whether legal course should be taken.
""Victims have told us that the sense of being violated [by the legal process] was very similar [to the initial assault],"" said Director of the Dane County Rape Crisis Center Kelly Anderson. ""Not having control over the process, having no say in it … and in such a public way perpetuates or exacerbates the issues surrounding the first assault … and so many cases don't go to trial … the sad truth of it is that reporting it doesn't mean he'll never do it again.""
""85 percent of sexual assaults occur between acquaintances""
Jessica's case is by no means unique, in both in the legal recourse and the fact that it was someone she knew beforehand and felt was a friend.
""The ‘stranger in the bush' cases are the ones we see, the ones that get reported on, because those are seen as public problems, but the violence between sexual partners or acquaintances is seen as a private one,"" Hotvedt said.
Yolanda Garza, assistant dean of students and chair of the Subcommittee on Sexual Assault and Dating/Domestic Violence at UW-Madison agreed.
""The media, they're like magnets when it comes to stranger assaults, but what we know is that many of the students that come forward are assaulted by someone they know,"" she said.
The fact that the majority of cases do occur between acquaintances can also be a major reason why so many cases go unreported. Jessica struggled with this as well, stressing the fact that they had mutual friends as a key factor in why she decided not to file the case.
""Our social circles are so intertwined and it's so easy for him to say it just didn't happen … I feel like it is easier for people to just brush it off than it is for people to accept that someone could do something like that,"" she said.
""Stay away from that short skirt and that dark alley""
Along with the idea that all rape is stranger rape, another predominant way of educating around this issue centers on ways women should act in attempted prevention—rhetoric that some see as problematic.
""I would challenge what law enforcement says, such as ‘women, protect yourselves,' because how we prevent sexual violence is not to tell women what they can or can't do in public,"" Hotvedt said. ""The core issue of needing a woman to carry a whistle or cover her drink is the behavior she is protecting herself from and [risk reduction efforts] will never change that behavior and [they] never can.""
Myra Marx Ferree, professor of sociology and women's studies at UW-Madison, agreed.
""There is still too much emphasis on stranger rape, too much emphasis on educating women to protect themselves,"" she said. ""There needs to be more university and student efforts for educating men, making it more likely for men to stand up to other men and allow them to say, ‘I don't agree with the way you are treating that woman, no, I don't think its funny, or cute or manly to do that.' … I am shocked at how the training remains to be ‘on all your dates wear track shoes, cover your drinks, don't wear revealing clothing,'"" Hotvedt said.
She also added the importance of educating men as a means of primary prevention.
""You need to believe women, but you need to believe in men. I believe in men to change what it means to be ‘man enough' and a world where everyone isn't afraid of other men,"" she said.
Sexual Assault Awareness month is almost over, but the problems of rape and other sexual violence still remain for Jessica and many others.
""I try my damndest not to let it define me, but it affects so many different aspects of your life. The way you walk down the street, the way that you date, just the way you interact with people…"" Jessica said.
Assitant Dean of Students Garza also stressed the importance of this issue continuing past the month of April, and Hotvedt called on the campus community to make a change.
""What I challenge every student to do about this issue is to think about very concrete things that people can do—I challenge 40,000 students to decide that this is an important issue for their learning environment,"" she said.
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