Raising the Bar on Sexual Assault Prevention

By Laura Duncan on 04/08/2011 @ 05:09 PM

In 2009, President Barack Obama made history by declaring April as Sexual Assault Awareness Month. Two years later, it is once again time to focus our attention on this critical issue, and the ways by which we can prevent this type of violence from occurring. In this article, I will focus on the important problem of sexual assault in our country’s schools and universities.

The numbers that we have on sexual assault are not easy to look at. Before graduating from high school, 1 in 10 girls will have been physically forced to have sexual intercourse in or out of school. A recent study by the Department of Justice shows that 1 in 5 college women will be assaulted during post-secondary studies. Moreover, the Department of Justice estimates that fewer than 5% of completed and attempted rapes of college women are reported. The consequences of rape and sexual violence are devastating on the victims, who are more likely to suffer depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, to abuse alcohol and drugs, and to contemplate suicide.

The purpose of Sexual Assault Awareness Month is not only to bring light to these predictions, but also to find ways of improving our current situation. In order to do this, we must concentrate our efforts on three basic pillars: prevention, ensuring that sexual assault is reported and adequately investigated, and providing support for the victims of these crimes.

In pursuit of this goal, the U.S. Department of Education recently sent out a “Dear Colleague” letter to schools all across the country, reminding them of their responsibilities under Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program or activity. According to the Department of Education, compliance with this statute also requires prevention and adequate response to sexual violence. To learn about the obligations of educational institutions regarding sexual assault, click here.

When talking about prevention of sexual violence, it is important to recognize the efforts of Vice President Joe Biden. Sixteen years ago, then-Senator Biden wrote and championed the Violence Against Women Act, which aimed at improving the criminal justice response to domestic and sexual violence. Since the passage of the Act, instances of domestic violence have dropped by more than 50%. On Monday, April 4th, Vice President Biden spoke about sexual assault at the University of New Hampshire and announced the new guidelines for compliance with Title IX. Below is a video of the Vice-President’s Speech.

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