Editorial

Reducing sexual assault in schools is ongoing fight

Posted

The recent U.S. Senate hearings to confirm Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh captivated the nation in some of the most contentious weeks of the Trump presidency. We will never know with absolute certainty whether Kavanaugh is guilty or innocent of the sexual assault charges leveled against him. A complaint more than three decades old, without physical evidence, simply could not be proven. In the end, it was a case of one person’s word against another’s.

The case, though, shined a light on sexual assault of young women, particularly in high school and college settings. With tempers now cooling, we should all take a moment to reflect.

According to a 2017 Association of American Universities survey, 23.1 percent of female college students were victims of sexual misconduct or assault after they were threatened physically, assaulted or incapacitated. And that might very well be an underestimate. We know that many sexual assault cases are never reported.

In a comprehensive review of nationwide statistics, the Associated Press found that U.S. students committed roughly 17,000 sexual assaults from 2011 to 2015. Nearly 5 percent of victims were 5 and 6 years old.

Sexual assault of young women dates back decades — even centuries and millennia. What is new, however, is social media, which enables abusers to disseminate news of their “conquests” quickly and easily to a significantly wider audience, re-victimizing the already traumatized victims and potentially egging on further attacks by others.

Most men do not sexually abuse young women. Most men are decent, law-abiding people. That holds true even at the often alcohol-fueled festivities that are common on college campuses. We mustn’t make all men out to be villains. They aren’t. Many are allies of women in the growing #MeToo movement to out the abusers.

We do, however, need to do a better job of educating young men about what is acceptable behavior around women, particularly at parties at which substances are imbibed. We also need to teach young women how to report abuse when it happens. And colleges and universities must do more to protect potential abuse victims and prosecute cases when warranted. Too often in the past, abuse was covered up in the name of protecting a school’s reputation.

Under the Obama administration, colleges were expected to respond quickly and fairly to reports of sexual assault. Guidelines issued in 2011 stated that the federal government would vigorously monitor schools in carrying out that obligation. A number of school officials criticized the Obama-era rules, however, arguing they were too onerous.

Last year, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos rescinded those rules, and this year she unveiled policy proposals to strengthen the rights of students accused of sexual assault and reduce the liability of colleges and universities, while encouraging schools to provide more support for victims. DeVos tried to claim the high ground, saying the plan would include a public-comment period. There is no doubt, however, that it was a step back in the long fight to reduce and eradicate sexual assaults in schools.

Consider for a moment the recent case of former Michigan State gymnastics doctor Larry Nassar, who sexually assaulted 332 female students from the 1990s to 2016. He was sentenced to 40 years in prison. The case confirms the long-held belief that sexual assault is a terrible and terrifying reality of higher education.

On one recent National Public Radio program, a majority of the boys questioned agreed that verbal consent is necessary before first making physical contact with a girl. The stress should be on verbal consent. Without it, signals could get crossed, one boy rightly noted. He described a scene in which a girl and a boy are attracted to each other. She sits down next to him on a bus, covers them with a blanket, and lies down to cuddle and hold hands. The boy said her actions could be seen as signs of consent to go further — but maybe they aren’t.

It’s always best to communicate intent before you act. Parents, teachers, coaches and everyone responsible for the well-being of young people should drive home that message to the boys and girls, and even the college-age men and women, in their care. With better education, we would expect the number of sexual assaults in school to decrease. The messaging must, however, be unrelenting.