When kids finish high school and go off to study at an institution of higher learning, it feels like the world is there, right for the taking. Unfortunately, it has become all too common for kids, and especially girls, to find a world of hurt and pain waiting there instead. The dark undercurrents of the modern college campus are that date rape has become a common part of the equation. Because so many institutions aren’t reporting incidents to the police, it also seems like many college campuses are trying to sweep these incidents under a rug to forget about them.
Statistics on Date Rape at College and University Campuses
1. 25% of college women report that they survived rape or an attempted rape at some point in their lifetime.
2. Every 21 hours, another woman is raped on a college campus today.
3. 75% of the women who reported a rape while on a college campus were under the age of 25.
4. It is estimated that 1 in 4 women will be the subject of at least one sexual attack over the course of their college career.
5. Only 40% of all estimated sexual attacks, whether a rape is completed or not, are ever reported to law enforcement officials.
6. Up to 90% of college campus rapes occur through date rape incidents.
7. The more intimate a college relationship happens to be, then the more likely a sexual attack is to occur.
8. Only 17% of women who feel like someone is stalking them or feel like someone is considering a sexual attack against them will make a police report.
9. Almost all of the 2,500 schools in a National Institute of Justice survey did not have any sexual assault response policies.
10. Only 4 out of 10 US colleges or universities offer any sort of sexual assault training to their staff and rarely is this training offered to the general student population.
11. Less than 40% of schools today train campus security officers on how to respond to a sexual assault even though they are often the first officers to receive a report.
12. Only 1 in 4 schools provide a residence hall with staff that have been trained in safety measures against date rape and other sexual attacks.
13. About 67% of schools and universities are out of compliance with the Clery Act, which mandates each school report sexual attacks to federal officials.
14. In US military academies, 5% of women report surviving a rape every year.
15. The percentage of men who report surviving a rape in a US military academy annually: 2.4%.
16. More than 670,000 women that are currently attending a US college or university have survived at least one sexual assault.
17. 46% of women who choose to enter the Navy are survivors of rape prior to their enrolling to serve.
18. The percentage of men who are rape perpetrators before they enter into military service: 15%.
19. Women who are multi-racial have a 1 in 3 chance of experiencing some form of rape in their lifetime.
20. The presence of a bystander during a date rape plan, no matter where the implementation of the plan happens to be, reduces the chances of a completed sexual assault by 44%.
21. Up to 80% of the date rapes that occur when men are perpetrating against women happen when the woman is intoxicated.
22. The highest risk of a date rape occurring to a college woman happens when they voluntarily become intoxicated.
23. 32% of date rape incidents occur when there is a romantic relationship between the perpetrator and the victim.
24. Women in sororities are 74% more likely to experience rape than other college women.
25. Date rape that occurs with a female perpetrator on a female victim occurs in 7% of all reported incidents.
26. Only 2% of rapists, however, are reported to be women.
27. Alcohol is the most commonly used item to perpetrate a date rape, beating even “Date Rape” drugs.
28. Less than 10% of rape cases that are reported to police result in any criminal charges.
29. Women who are the victims of a date rape are more likely to suffer from PTSD than women in the general population.
30. Date rape is the least reported of all violent crimes.
31. 43% of college men admit that they have used coercive behavior in order to have sex with a woman, including ignoring when a woman has said no.
32. Only 1 in 4 college women who have been raped actually describe their sexual encounter as rape.
33. About 60% of the completed campus rapes that take place on campus occur in the victim’s residence.
34. 1 in 12 college-age men admit having fulfilled the prevailing definition of rape or attempted rape, yet virtually none of these men identify themselves as rapists.
35. 4 out of 10 men who are on a date with a woman assume that alcohol consumption indicates a willing sexual partner.
36. College rape victims receive external physical injuries in over 47% of all rapes.
37. Only 2% of reported rapes to law enforcement are discovered to be false.
38. 84% of the women who reported sexually coercive experiences experienced the incident during their first four semesters on campus.
39. 30% of women who have been raped think about suicide after the incident.
After all, if girls know that there are high rates of date rape at a particular college while they are applying to schools, they’ll be less likely to want to attend classes there. Big dollars are at stake, especially when educational costs are above $20k for a 4 year degree at most colleges and universities right now. The sad fact for many families is this: profitability is becoming more important than student safety.
In order to make college campuses safer, a greater awareness of the facts about date rape needs to reach the general population. Even when schools aren’t reporting incidents to police, researching where sexual assault incidents occur and either taking appropriate safety measures or avoiding those areas or schools altogether is important. Otherwise those who are committing these horrible crimes are just going to feel like they can get away with what they are doing without a consequence.
Sexual violence is never funny. It is never part of the normal college experience. By knowing these statistics and using them to inform students about what is happening at college campuses, a safer learning environment can be achieved and that means today’s kids really can have the opportunity to change the world in their own unique way.
Risks Susceptibility Among Women
Girls who attend college are the most susceptible to a date rape when they are attending their first two years of college. That means safety awareness needs to be taught before girls head off to school on their own for perhaps the first time.
The problem that date rape has is that men don’t see themselves as rapists when they admittedly use coercion to have intercourse and women don’t see themselves as being raped when a date rape occurs. This means that sexual attacks become justifiable in the minds of the perpetrators because nothing is done to stop them. There’s even denial that is justifiable because schools don’t do anything, in many instances, to help women who have become a victim.
What can be done? Because alcohol is such a determining factor when a date rape will occur, especially when it is planned by a romantic partner, girls especially need to be smart amount when they choose to partake. That doesn’t mean by any stretch of the imagination that a woman who chooses to drink is responsible for being raped should it happen. It means that alcohol reduces the safety awareness that a woman has about her, so limiting the chances of being alone and drunk with a partner can reduce the chances of a date rape occurring.
Because many women are also victimized before they even enter college, the best indicator that a date rape will occur is that a woman has been previously victimized. Speaking to women about their past victimization and helping the see what the warning signs of a future victimization happen to be could take major steps toward making college and university campuses a lot safer in the future.
Knowing who might become a partner just to commit a rape is also important. Men who participate in aggressive sports are more likely to commit a date rape than guys who do not. Guys who live in fraternities are also more likely to commit a sexual attack. When women have this information and the training to reduce their risks of becoming a victim, then they have a better chance of getting through their college career safely.
Most importantly, it is important for women to report any incident. Because so many date rapes go unreported, many victims stay hidden and never seek out help. There are supports available. It is up to all of us to make sure these supports are transparent and able to be used.