Transitioning Times

Colleges and universities in the United States are required to disclose information about crimes committed on and around campus, as pursuant to Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act.   One of our staff members received the following message from Millersville University . "It is estimated that nationwide 20 percent of women and six percent of college men experience sexual assault or attempted sexual assault during their college years.  Data reveal nearly 50 percent of transgender people experience sexual violence.  No matter the demographic, the most common type of sexual assault is not committed by a stranger but by someone known to the victim, typically a date or other acquaintance. There are risk factors associated with sexual assault, about which it may be useful to be aware, but being at risk in no way shifts responsibility for sexual assault to a victim/survivor.  Studies of sexual assault show a high ...

Last week, there was a news report from Aljazeera on America Tonight about renaming sexual assault and rape as "non-consensual sexual contact" or "non-consensual sex" in policies regulating college campuses and in many people's vernacular. This is not right.  Words have power, and using a euphemism discounts the severity of what happened.  A crime occurred.  Someone's life was potentially turned into two periods: before and after.   Renaming sexual assault just reaffirms what many advocates know, that people are uncomfortable with the idea of sex and don't even want to think about rape.  It is much easier to think, especially on college campuses, that it is merely a miscommunication, instead of a premeditated attack on a vulnerable person.  If you aren't familiar with The Undetected Rapist, or David Lisak's research , please watch below. From a description of the video:  " What is also clear from this research is that so-called...