Forensic consultant and sexual assault researcher David Lisak spoke with University of Wisconsin-Madison students about his research Wednesday at a campus sexual assault summit.
Lisak is a professor at the University of Massachusetts-Boston and speaks with colleges about the prevalence of sexual assault on campuses.
Lisak stressed the need for leadership on college campuses to acknowledge sexual assault is a serious issue, and they need to mobilize to create solutions.
“We generate all this research on college campuses in this country, and yet we still don’t have a single university where the leadership has gotten behind this and said, ‘We’re going to do everything that we can do to prevent sexual violence,’” Lisak said. “It has never happened.”
He encouraged parents and students to put pressure on university leaders to make changes and question what universities are doing to prevent sexual assault.
Lisak also presented some of his research about sexual offenders. He said 5 percent of men on college campuses acknowledge committing acts that fit the legal definition of rape, and about 3 percent are serial rapists. He also found 91 percent of rapes are committed by serial rapists.
Based on this assessment, he said a vast majority of men will not rape, and are the ones universities need to target for participation in prevention programs.
“[Sexual assault] breeds here on university campuses,” Lisak said. “This is where it needs to be addressed and this is where young people need to learn about it, how it can be curtailed and prevented.”
According to Lisak, there are many common misconceptions about sexual assault, including the assumption victims do not know their attackers, although a large portion of assaults occur from friends or acquaintances.
Lisak said he hopes that after hearing his lecture, students will leave with a sense of mobilization to address current problems.
“My fondest wish is that students … [are motivated] to do whatever they can,” Lisak said. “To not be passive or feel helpless, but to take this on however they can. To affect change.”
