The Grand Views

Issue date: 2/5/10 Section: Features

Media Credit: Victoria Brady

One out of every four women who attend college will be sexually assaulted or the victims of attempted sexual assault before they graduate, according to the New York Coalition Against Sexual Assault. However, there have been studies done by The Center for Public Integrity (the Center) that show 95 percent of all victims don't report the incident.

Sexual assault is a statutory offense that provides it is a crime to knowingly cause another person to engage in an unwanted sexual act by force or threat.

Each university has a different way of handling sexual assault, but it is not just the universities that get involved. Local police forces may get involved if the victim calls them first.

"Routinely, colleges wait for the results of our investigations before imposing administrative penalties on a student," said Des Moines Police Department Captain Randy Dawson, commander of the Detective Bureau for Response.

While some cases are reported, there are many that are not. During their nine-month study, the Center found that loopholes and confusion dealing with the Clery Act is one of the main causes of an inconsistency with the reported number of sexual assault cases. The Clery Act requires all colleges and universities that participate in federal financial aid programs to collect, retain and disclose information about crime on or near their campuses. For a long time, the Clery Act vaguely defined crimes, which caused failure in the reporting of some sexual assault cases. The Education Department published a Clery Act handbook 15 years after the Clery Act was enacted, leaving plenty of time for sexual assault cases to be passed off casually.

The Center reports one case in which a girl was gang raped after drinking in a friend's dorm room in May of 2006, and the university she was attending at the time did nothing about it. In the fall of 2006, after the police declared their investigation a dead end, she committed suicide.

This is one of the worse case scenarios, but a victim can feel pushed aside if something is not done about their case. However, not all victims are willing to come forward. Many may not report the incident because they feel it was somehow their fault, or they are too ashamed.

"It is very difficult for our agency to get students or others to report a crime if they do not want to," Dawson said. "That is where on-campus counselors and rape crisis counselors are very important in convincing a victim to come forward."

Grand View has a very detailed policy dealing with sexual assault. The very first line of the policy says, «Grand View University affirms its recognition that sexual assault is illegal, in violation of the University's mission, as well as University policies and procedures.

The process for reporting an incident is listed, along with the investigation process and disciplinary process. For a full overview of everything Grand View lists dealing with sexual assault, go to your MyView page, click the Campus Life link, go to the University Disclosures and Policies link, Go to Section C: Students, then click Policy Regarding Sexual Assault and Guidelines for Reporting Incidents.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools