Sexual Assault on College Campuses
Trigger warning: The following article is about sexual assault and features a personal story about it.
During my freshman year of college, I lived in a dorm on the northern side of my campus. I parked my car on the western side which was about a twenty-minute walk away. One night I parked my car in my designated parking garage and began to walk home. My walk was interrupted when I received a call from my friend asking if I could give her a ride. By the time that I had gotten back to my dorm after taking her home, I noticed an ambulance and several police cars parked outside. The next morning, I received an email from my school informing the students that a girl had been grabbed from the parking lot in front of my dorm, pulled into a van, sexually assaulted, and dropped back off. The time that was listed was approximately the time that I would have been walking through the parking lot had my friend not called me.
Although it didn’t happen to me that time, I was sexually assaulted during my first year in college. I’m sure that everyone reading this knows someone who has been as well, whether or not they have told you about it. After all, 26.4% of female undergraduate students experience sexual assault. Although this topic may be an uncomfortable one to read about, the prevalence of the issue is what makes it so necessary. You may be thinking “It’ll never happen to me”, but as with most things in life it is better to be safe than sorry. The best thing that you can do is to take preventative measures to protect yourself. Here are a few things that you can do in order to increase your safety during your first taste of freedom.
The Simple Things
There are a variety of simple changes that you can make to your daily routine in order to protect yourself from being victimized. These are the things that you hear people tell you to do, but you may not take that seriously. For example, don’t walk alone at night. Share your location with your friends. Try to keep off of your phone and stay aware of your surroundings if, for some reason, you do have to walk alone.
Personal Safety Devices
If the previously mentioned tips aren’t making you feel as safe as you would like, you could invest in a personal safety device. There is a large market for these kinds of items, so you should be able to find one that works the best for you. A personal safety alarm is a small device that makes as much noise as possible in order to draw attention to you. Personally, I carry a knife when I go out at night since it is legal in my state. I know some women who carry pepper spray in their purses. Some people carry stun guns which are similar to tasers but are smaller and legal in more states. There is no right or wrong kind of personal protection device to carry. It’s all about what makes you feel safer and more confident in your ability to protect yourself.
Women’s Self-Defense Classes
Women’s self-defense classes are meant to help equip women with the skillsets to defend themselves in sexual assault situations. These classes will teach you the moves you need to be able to debilitate an attacker, even if they are much larger than you. If your own safety isn’t enough of a motivator, martial arts (the base of many self-defense classes) is also an amazing way to get and stay in shape. Women’s self-defense classes are offered all over the country and you can use Google to find classes near you.
Whether or not you choose to implement any of these ideas in your daily life is completely up to you. Even if you were to start doing all of these things, no methods are completely foolproof. If you do experience sexual assault, remember that it is not your fault. The only consent is an enthusiastic yes. Nothing that you did means that you deserve it or that you were asking for it. If this does happen to you, reach out to those around you. If you need someone to talk to at any time, the RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline runs 24/7 and has trained staff ready to help you. Just call 1-800-656-4673.
Written by: Chloe Foster, Photography: Cullen Powitzky, Design: Taylor Gustafson, Social Media: Krisha Atreya