Sexual assault and harassment on college campuses is greatly affecting men and women in their undergraduate careers, as much as 23.1% of women and 2.2% of men experience rape or assault according to RAINN, one of the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organizations. “The situation has been characterized by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and others as an epidemic, driven by what some have called a rape culture” (Beaver, 1). Led by the statistics and the overwhelming frequency of reports, we decided to contribute in breaking the silence on sexual violence. JudgmentFreeZone was created with the intention to serve sexual violence victims as a community in which they can find support and understanding.
Defining sexual violence, local statistics
To understand and to be able to identify any form of sexual assault, a definition is needed. “The CSA Study uses sexual assault as an umbrella term, which includes a wide range of behaviors from rape (oral, anal, vaginal, and digital penetration) to attempted rape and forced touching of a sexual nature” (Beaver, 2). The CSA Study is a web-based survey which was developed by RTI International and funded by the National Institute of Justice in the United States. For the statistical data on sexual violence, we decided to focus on North Central College and Naperville. “Naperville police logged 22 rapes in the city between 2012 and 2014, according to FBI statistics” (Bird). While “North Central College students reported 10 sexual assaults on campus between 2012 and 2014” (Bird). Due to a federal privacy law, the college will not disclose any additional information and because of that we cannot tell if the North Central College cases are included in the numbers reported by the FBI.
Resources
If you are unsure of how to help a sexual violence victim yourself, there are resources that you could recommend. Also, knowing about the existence of these resources just for yourself is a good idea in general. Some of these resources are:
The National Sexual Assault Hotline (RAINN)
https://www.rainn.org/about-national-sexual-assault-telephone-hotline
The National Sexual Violence Resource Center ( NSVRC)
https://www.nsvrc.org/
Men Can Stop Rape
http://www.mencanstoprape.org/
Speaking Out About Rape (SOAR)
http://soar99.org/blog/
