Assaulting Assault

It can happen here, and it does.

Sexual assault plagues college campuses nationwide. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control study pegs the number of women who fall victim to sexual violence before or during their college careers at 20 to 25 percent and the number of men at 3 percent.

Despite these facts, many Harvard students might want to believe that sexual assault could not possibly pose a serious problem on a campus known for hosting some of the best and brightest students in the world. They would be wrong. In 2011, 26 Harvard students filed reports of assault with on-campus officials, and 85 to 95 students informed the Office of Sexual Assault Prevention and Response that they had experienced some form of sexual harassment or misconduct.

Since 2010, OSAPR has attempted to address these issues through Sexual Assault Awareness Month. We support OSAPR’s efforts through Sexual Assault Awareness Month to encourage students to confront a very real problem facing college students here and elsewhere. We also commend the organizers’ pragmatic approach of reaching out to many student groups, including social organizations off campus, which demonstrates their commitment to changing campus culture in a positive and lasting way.

Thankfully, this year has already seen a significant push to bring sexual assault to the forefront of student discourse. This fall, 85 percent of students voted in a referendum to urge Harvard to “reexamine its sexual assault policies and practices.” Soon after, a panel made up of representatives from the Administrative Board and Harvard University Health Services, among other groups, convened to carry out the job. And last month, The Crimson published an in-depth examination of sexual violence at Harvard that gained considerable notice on campus.

These initiatives, along with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, aid in the fight against a damaging culture of victim-blaming and victim-silencing. Spreading information about the realities of sexual assault encourages victims to seek help or justice by assuring them that they are not alone, and neither are they at fault.

Making sexual assault a commonly discussed topic also puts pressure on those in authority to take action. For example, this paper has recommended that the Ad Board reform its handling of sexual assault cases by adopting the preponderance of evidence standard along with the standard of affirmative consent. The administration would also do well to release public statistics that would shed more light on where sexual assaults occur among Harvard students.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month has the potential to accomplish this much and more, especially given OSAPR’s decision to spread its message actively to off-campus social organizations. Sexual assault, of course, can occur in any social setting, and many parties at Harvard take place not in dorms or dining halls but at fraternities and final clubs. By dedicating itself to drawing these and other off-campus locales into the conversation about sexual assault, OSAPR is recognizing the social reality at Harvard and taking steps to improve it.

Sexual assault plagues the nation, and it plagues Harvard as well. We praise Sexual Assault Awareness Month as an effective, practical attempt to change that status quo for the better.