Tackling sexual assault and misconduct at DePauw

Amy,' a student who wished to remain anonymous, arrived on DePauw's campus as a freshman two years ago with high hopes of meeting new people.

During her first year at DePauw she watched these expectations fall apart.

Amy, now a junior, was raped by an acquaintance while on campus her freshman year, an experience that has since haunted her throughout her college experience. 

"I was very depressed for months, and it really affected my grades negatively," she said. "I stopped trusting men and just people in general on this campus." 

Initially, Amy wanted to keep silent about the situation, fearing the social pressures of being looked down upon or accused of lying.  

But Amy's mother eventually found out, and against Amy's wishes, contacted DePauw's Public Safety to implement on-campus safety measures and resources for her daughter. Amy eventually filed a report without revealing any information about her attacker. 

Although under-reported, sexual assault at DePauw is not uncommon and according to annual crime statistics from Public Safety, reports of sexual offenses in the past three years have increased. 

In 2008, a total of six sexual offenses were reported, seven in 2009 and 10 in 2010.

According to a study conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, 81 percent of on-campus and 84 percent of off-campus sexual assaults go unreported.

Yet the increase in reported sexual offenses at DePauw could also signify that sexual assault is becoming more of a threat at the university.  

The student handbook defines sexual misconduct policy as a "broad spectrum of behaviors including: Relationship violence; stalking; voyeurism; sexual battery; rape; sexual harassment or any other nonconsensual sexually-related conduct."   

Because of the many different instances defined as sexual misconduct, there are a plethora of resources available for students who are affected by sexual misconduct. These resources include the Violence Intervention/Prevention Project, DePauw Sexual Assault Survivor Advocate hotline, Public Safety, the Women's Center, the dean of students, Putnam County Family Support Services and the Wellness Center. 

Director of Public Safety Angie Nally explained that each department is aware of what the others has to offer in order to refer the student to his or her resource of choice. 

"Public Safety is the resource that can help with holding someone accountable," Nally said. "Students generally are informed when they meet with the officer that we can keep their info as private as possible, but we always disclaimer that. Depending on what they tell us, if it's a considered risk to the entire public, we may have to do everything in our power to stop that risk." 

Nally said Public Safety manages instances in which students choose to continue an investigation. Public Safety can present the report to the county prosecution office for consideration of criminal charges and the sexual misconduct board for consideration of university charges. If the attacker is found guilty through the sexual misconduct board, the sanction could lie anywhere between probation and expulsion. 

The Women's Center, another resource for victims, works to raise awareness of sexual assault through programming. They host speaker events as well as screenings and informal or formal discussions for students, faculty and staff on a wide range of topics, including sexual violence.  

"The Women's Center also coordinates with the SASA (Sexual Assault Survivor Advocacy) program, which is a 24/7 hotline where students can call or friends can call to find out what they can do to get help," said Sarah Ryan, director of the Women's Center.   

Jeanette Johnson-Licon, director of the Cultural Resource Center and the Violence Intervention/Prevention Project (VIP), also organizes events and discussions to educate students on how to recognize danger in any relationship.  

As a way to raise awareness against sexual violence, Johnson-Licon is planning an event next month, entitled "The Red Flag Campaign," through a grant VIP received last spring. 

"After we got the grant we met with a focus group on campus who questioned the threshold for what was healthy and unhealthy in a relationship, so we decided to do a red flag campaign," Johnson-Licon said. 

The campaign will help raise awareness about what signifies a healthy versus unhealthy relationship, in hopes of preventing sexual, physical and emotional relationship violence.   

Ryan, director of the Women's Center, views the event is an impactful way to address issues on both sides of the gender spectrum in regards to sexual assault by shifting the focus to men and bystanders, making them aware of red flags that can contribute to sexual violence. 

"Engaging men in what we view as a women's issue is vital to reducing and ending violence against women," she said.  

Regardless of the plethora of resources available on campus, however, some members of the DePauw community are not aware of them until they discover a need for them.

Sexual assault is often swept under the rug and holds a culture of silence among peers because of social stigma, guilt, embarrassment or fear. 

"We are such a small community," Nally said. "And social pressures, the intimacy of the information period, struggling with understanding what has happened and processing and putting it into some kind of form that you can deal with is very hard." 

Some students also feel that information about resources and courses of action are lacking on DePauw's campus. 

"As a first-year mentor, in training we give freshmen immediate resources to where to go in case of a sexual assault incident, but other than that, besides the banners you see and the flyers, I don't think it's really talked about," said junior Ellie Pearson. 

As for Amy, the fear of feeling victimized and feeling looked down upon by the social community is what prevented her from primarily seeking help. 

"I think DePauw students focus much more on greek activities, fun events and parties, but we never really talk about the issues that can derive from that," Amy said.  

Whether the frequency of sexual assault reports are a sign that students are utilizing on-campus resources or that sexual offense is really becoming a reality, community members feel a strong need for more expansive discussion and examination of these issues in order to create an open, safe and accepting campus environment. 

Editor's note: The name of the sexual assault survivor, "Amy," has been changed to protect the subject's identity.