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Erika Randall
Professor Agee
WRT 1020
2 February 2015
Sexual Assaults on Women at College Campuses
College is supposed to be all about having a good time and getting your degree. However,
for some, college can be a nightmare because of sexual assault. It has been proven that at least
one in four women will be the victim of sexual assault during her academic career (Sexual
Assault). Many people like to go out and party, but this can lead to unfortunate events. For
example, a girl may go to a party and their drink may be tampered with, usually by a date rape
drug or she may be hazed into drinking too much and will wake up naked in a strangers bed.
These kind of events can ruin a womans college experience. This is a problem that needs to be
addressed on college campuses across the nation. The solution is simple, college campuses need
to better inform their students about sexual assaults on women at college campuses because it
would make college a much more likeable place for students.
Sexual assaults were first recorded in 1957 as men using secrecy, stigma, and pressure to
exploit women (Kamenetz). However, the views and intensity of sexual assault has changed
since then. Sexual assault is currently recognized as any type of sexual behavior that occurs
without the explicit consent of the other person. With our society though, many woman do not
know how sexual assault is defined. In a survey of high school students, 56% of girls and 76% of

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boys (some of whom may be incoming college freshmen) believed forced sex was acceptable
under some circumstances (Sexual Assault). This affects all woman and men across the nation. If
a woman has been sexually assaulted, it will scar her for life. It will also affect men in her life
because she may be hesitant to let them in. Finally, it will affect all mothers and fathers around
the world because this is something that could happen to any of their daughters or sons. The
consequences of not trying to stop sexual assault include an increase of depression after the
assault, and an increase of child births due to the issue. Therefore, people must find a solution to
halt these trends.
The solution that is needed to prevent sexual assaults on women at college campuses is
simple, colleges must better educate their students on the issue. Coming into college many
women believe that sexual assault will not happen to them because they have a good group of
friends that the trust and love. However, a study shows that at least 80% of all sexual assaults are
committed by an acquaintance of the victim (Sexual Assault). If college campuses were to
educate their students better, rates of sexual assault on the campus would drop immensely. Not to
mention, it is a cost efficient way to address the issue, therefore, college tuition would not have
to be raised. There are many ways a college could inform their students. First, colleges could
offer a course to freshman enlightening them on the dangers of and consequences of sexual
assault. Many colleges already force students to take an introduction to university class,
therefore, all they have to do is add a unit on the dangers within the campus. Another prevention
method colleges should use is flyers or brochures. Brochures are hung on many walls throughout
colleges. Putting a few up informing students on sexual assaults and the resources on and off
campus would be an easy way to help halt the negative trend. If college campuses were to take

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this solution into account it would positively affect the students, seeing that they would be better
informed. It would also affect the university positively because their ratings would go up seeing
that they would have lower sexual assault rates. And finally, it would positively affect parents
because they would not have to worry about their children being sexually assaulted at school.
However, there are a few other solutions that could take place.
It is possible that parents could take the time to educate their children. If parents have
been through college they can easily educate their children through personal experiences. If a
parent has been a victim of sexual assault or if they know someone who is a victim of sexual
assault, they will have first-hand experience with the issue. This will make them be able to easily
explain the outcomes and consequences of sexual assault. However, this is not always an
effective solution. No matter how much personal experience a parent has, it does not mean their
children will always listen. The college age student will not listen because they will feel that their
parent is just being over protective. Parents often lecture their kids on events that happened when
they were younger. This can make kids even more ignorant to the issue than they were before
because college students tend to simply ignore their parents stories, thinking that they are just
overreacting. Another solution could be the universities offer an office dedicated to providing
students a safe place to talk about and report the issue. If a students was assaulted they would
report it to the office and then the offender would be caught and they would not be able to harm
anyone else. However, this would not be an effective solution for two reasons. It would be costly
to add an office which may raise already high tuition rates, and also adding the office does not
mean students would use it. Many students are too embarrassed to talk about their situation and
would not use the office. Therefore, the most reasonable solution is to have the college

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campuses better inform their students, seeing as they know the environment of their campus the
best. However, some people would argue that this solution is not the best solution that could be
offered.
Some people may argue that letting colleges deal with the situation is not a great solution
because a lot of sexual assault is due to alcohol abuse by students in which information will not
help. However, this is invalid. Even though many sexual assaults occur while a student is using
alcohol, this does not mean the information from colleges would not be helpful. If given more
information, students would then be more prepared and aware that it could happen to them. It
will also give them a heads-up that sexual assault is not always carried out by a stranger. It can
be carried out by someone they know. Colleges giving students information may not stop them
from attending scenes where sexual assault occurs, but it may lead them to be more careful when
they are put in those environments. For example, they may still go to parties, however, the
information they were given at their university may make them not drink as much because they
want to be competent throughout the night. Therefore, decreasing the incidents of rape because
people are more aware of what could happen and therefor are more competent.
College campuses need to better inform their students about sexual assaults on women at
college campuses to decrease the rising rates of these incidents. Providing students with the
information they need is not only a respectable solution, but it is cost efficient as well. Lowering
the rates of sexual assault will not only benefit the well-being of the victims, but it will also
benefit the parents of these children and the universities as well. It is not costly on the tax-payers
or community members part, and it could potentially save students education, lives, and future.
There is no reason that anyone shouldnt want to save the education of students who will soon be

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the future of our nation. Sexual assault is a problem that needs to be addressed and solved now
before more students become victims of these awful crimes.

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Works Cited
Kamenetz, Anya. "The History of Campus Sexual Assault." NPR Ed. NPR, 30 Nov. 2014. Web. 30 Jan.
2015.
"Sexual Assault and College Campuses - Statistics." Statistics about Sexual Assault. Sarah Lawrence
College, 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2015.