President Barack Obama’s task force that encourages colleges to take a stronger stance on sexual assault reports will help students feel more comfortable reporting these incidents. As a result, it will also help to eliminate the misconception that incapacitated victims are partially responsible.

The influence of the White House can help change the perception that incapacitated victims are equally responsible. At the same time, Obama and his team need to outline the plans for this task force in greater detail.

In a report published Jan. 22 by the White House Council on Women and Girls, it was confirmed that rape is most common on college campuses. According to the report, one in five students have been assaulted, but only 12 percent of them report the incidents. Additionally, 7 percent of male students had admitted to committing or attempting rape.

The report also focused on the issue of incapacitated assault, as the use of drugs or alcohol often dissuade victims from reporting incidents. The report indicated that campus party culture contributes to the frequency of these incidents.

The White House should enlist college students to serve on the task force who can also serve as liaisons for sexual assault awareness for their respective universities. Because the task force is specifically targeting the issue on college campuses, the inclusion of a college student’s perspective is crucial. Students better understand the circumstances under which these assaults take place and how they are handled on college campuses.

When selecting these representatives, the task force should seek students from schools that have high numbers of sexual assaults on their campuses as these are the universities that should be addressed by the task force first.

The task force should strive to make it more acceptable for students to report sexual assaults — regardless of the circumstance. If students feel more comfortable reporting these assaults, it may eventually decrease their frequency. But for this to happen, victims must be able to report incidents without worrying about the consequences of doing so.

 

 

Published on January 29, 2014 at 2:58 am

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