According to the President of the University of Florida
The incidents of domestic violence and sexual abuse/assault on campus are on the rise in the recent past. Reports show that most of the sexual assault cases take place in dorms, freshman dorms, fraternities, across the campus, off campus, and in bars and clubs. As a result of the increased rate of sexual abuse, the university has experienced various challenges in determining the cause and also possible solutions to the issue. Several sexual assault cases have been recorded in the university during events such as athletic competitions, normal day-to-day operations among students, and in various fraternities. Sexual abuse has rampantly grown across various institutions in the US over the recent years. Therefore, the University of Florida aims to apply various measures used by other universities and institutions to handle sexual violence and also domestic violence. In the recommendation for the measures to control the issue, the UF and the police department should consider causes of sexual misconduct as well as a comparison of the step taken by other institutions to handle the same.
Sexual Assault Statistics at the University of Florida
The University recently carried out a survey that demonstrated that one in five female students reported having been sexually abused. Also, 17.6% of non-heterosexual students disclosed experiencing sexual abuse, and a further 10.6 % of heterosexuals claimed to be victims of sexual assault (University of Florida). In addition, many cases of sexual abuse go unreported. For example, the survey revealed that 58% of the victims failed to report the crime because they thought the act was not serious to report. A further 23% failed to report since they thought nothing would be done about it.
Causes of Sexual Abuse/Assault
There are multiple causes that contribute to the occurrence of sexual abuse at the University of Florida. These causes relate to students’ relationships as well as the relationship between students and workers, leaders, and the teaching staff. According to Behm and Schulte, student meetings and events in fraternities, dorms, and on-and-off campus paves way for sexual assault cases in the institution. Since 2015, a high number of sexual assault cases have been recorded in note cable areas in the campus such as Frat Row, Midtown, dorms, and Sorority. Over 30% of the total sexual assault cases reported in the last three years have taken place in the fraternities. At the same time, over 42% of the sexual assault cases happened in the dorms. A half of these cases involved freshman students. The cases in the fraternities had offenses such as sexual touching, sexual contact on the body, and the exposure of genitals to the victims. On the other hand, other cases that appeared in the dorms involved offenses such as rape, date rape, domestic violence, and sexual contact. In addition, nearly 0.5% of sexual assault cases at the University of Florida takes place where there is alcohol involved. It is either the perpetrator is drinking, the victim is drinking, or both are drinking. This shows us that students are more at risk of sexual assault if alcohol is involved in some way (Behm and Schulte).
Effects of Sexual Abuse
Firstly, sexual assault negatively affects academic work and overall college experience of the survivors. Sexual abuse victims on campus have markedly higher stress levels, lower academic efficacy, lower scholastic conscientiousness, as well as a lower institutional commitment than other students who have not experienced sexual abuse (University of New Hampshire). As a result, the survivors tend to change residences, drop classes, and even have lower GPAs. Secondly, victims are faced with the risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections as well as pregnancy. Thirdly, the experience negatively impacts the mental health of the student victims. Victims may suffer from anxiety, depression, eating disorders as well as post-traumatic stress disorder. Fourthly, a survivor may suffer from personal injuries as a result of forced sexual intercourse.
Measures Undertaken by other Institutions to Address the Issue of Sexual Assault
While sexual assault on campuses remains a serious issue, many colleges in New York have adopted proactive measures to minimize its incidence. Additionally, they have taken measures to enhance responses to the perpetration of the crime (Shaffer 159-159). The State University of New York consists of several campuses and community colleges. Its police department has adopted several strategies to deal with sexual violence cases. Firstly, they have a committee that reviews and establishes an all-inclusive investigation protocol of sex crime. Secondly, the police offer training to people to carry out sexual assault investigations on campus. Thirdly, they are working together with the SUNY Office of General Counsel to come up with a list of effective educational and preventive programs concerning sex crimes for campuses in SUNY.
Also, according to LaValle (13-15), Stony Brook University provides an education video concerning sexual assault to educate the students. The video offers comprehensive education on issues such as substance abuse and healthy relationships. Additionally, the University provides bystander intervention workshops, along with particular populations such as sorority and fraternity members, resident assistants, as well as student-athletes. The University of Oregon also has a Get Explicit 101 program that deals with sexual assault issues. In this program, students are given the training to train other students to become leaders in workshops. Further, there is a Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team of students who are tasked with leading theater-based prevention training during the school year (Zimmerman). Moreover, the University created a prevention leadership board of sexual violence for sororities as well as fraternities.
Recommendations for the University of Florida
Generally, policies on sexual assault are an imperative step in working to minimize as well as inhibit sexual violence. Furthermore, they are a pivotal part to ensure that students are aware of how and where they can report in case they are assaulted. Therefore, the University of Florida needs to increase awareness of school policies and reporting regulations that currently exist. In this regard, the University needs to ensure that our sexual assault policies consist of a flowchart (Streng and Kamimura 68). This will enable students to comprehend what the process will look like from reporting to resolution. The policies should also be simple to maneuver for a survivor and they should be able to be effortlessly linked to on and off university resources, especially school counseling services. This is especially vital as counseling makes a marked impact on the well-being of a victim of sexual violence.
Secondly, similar to the University of Oregon, Florida University should also have an educational video to educate students on issues such as healthy relationships, substance abuse, as well as sexual violence. This will impact useful knowledge on the students concerning sexual assault. Thirdly, freshman students should be required to finish an online course on the prevention of sexual violence. Also, they need to attend information sessions on healthy relationships that include a discussion concerning receiving and giving sexual consent. Fourthly, the University should come up with a bystander intervention program that will encourage and teach bystanders to intervene with peers and offer their support to actual or potential sexual assault victims. This will consequently increase comprehension and awareness of the issue, increase responsibility feelings to solve this issue, raise the commitment to act, as well as empowering individuals to act individually and collectively as well.
Conclusion
Sexual assault is a significant problem at the University of Florida. In most cases, alcohol is involved whereby either the victim was drunk or the offender was drunk, or both. Sexual abuse negatively impacts the mental and physical health of the survivors. Also, it affects the academic performance of the victims. Therefore, there is a need for the university to increase awareness on school policies about sexual assault, creating a sexual assault educational video, demand freshman students to complete an online course on prevention of sexual abuse, and establish a bystander intervention program. This intervention measures with effectively address this issue.
Works Cited
Behm, Mackenzie, and Chloe Schulte. "A Quarter Of All Reported Sexual Assaults At UF Occur In Frats." University of Florida: UF. N.p., 2017. Web. 29 Nov. 2018. <https://thetab.com/us/florida/2017/09/07/uf-sexual-assault-map-6305>
LaValle, Kenneth P. "Sexual Violence On College Campuses: A New York State Perspective." (2014): 13-15. Web. 29 Nov. 2018.
Shaffer, Stephen. "Sexual Violence Rife On US Campuses." Nature
506.7487 (2014): 159-159. Web. 29 Nov. 2018. < https://www.nature.com/articles/506159b>
Streng, Tara K., and Akiko Kamimura. "ERIC - Sexual Assault Prevention And Reporting On College Campuses In The US: A Review Of Policies And Recommendations." Journal of Education and Practice 6.3 (2015): 68. Web. 29 Nov. 2018. <https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1083737>
The University of Florida. "UF Releases Results Of Sexual Assault And Misconduct Survey." News.ufl.edu. N.p., 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2018. < http://news.ufl.edu/articles/2015/09/uf-releases-results-of-sexual-assault-and-misconduct-survey.php>
The University of New Hampshire. "Researchers Find Campus Sexual Violence Significantly Affects Academics." Medicalxpress.com. N.p., 2017. Web. 29 Nov. 2018. <https://www.unh.edu/unhtoday/2017/09/researchers-find-campus-sexual-violence-significantly-affects-academics>
Zimmerman, Eilene. "Campuses Struggle With Approaches For Preventing Sexual Assault." Nytimes.com. N.p., 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2018. <https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/education/campuses-struggle-with-approaches-for-preventing-sexual-assault.html>
