Sexual violence is a global public health crisis that affects all facets of society, and academic institutions are not exempt from the influence of assault. Data independent and unique to the South African higher education sector mirrors concerning levels of non-consensual sexual activity experienced by members of this community, where 33-36% of individuals have experienced some form of this violence during their time as students. Guided by calls to develop ‘critical consciousness’, this is the inaugural essay of a three-part series aimed at cultivating an understanding of the pernicious issues associated with sexual violence in higher education after the Formalin Open Forums. We encourage reflective engagement with the content by considering personal views and how they align with the discussions herein.
This essay exists on the foundation of a particular society defined by its embodiment of a safe and non-abusive community for all who traverse it. To achieve this vision, it has been suggested by contemporary feminist literature that awareness must be raised about the grave injustices associated with sexual violence in higher education. This essay seeks to excavate the somber and significant influence sexual violence has on the life world of higher educational institutions, first from the perspectives and experiences of survivors, elucidating a language unique to their circumstances—the lack produced by trauma—and second, an exposition of illuminated insights into a language of ‘structural’ mechanisms and ideologies. To offer a clearer insight into the widespread ramifications of sexual violence in higher education, set paramount and pertinent before our eyes, two interconnected essays follow. They will adopt the essence produced within this text, among narrative variety, to discuss the pervasive intricacy and nuance regarding responding to cultural change in higher education.
Background and Context
Sexual violence perpetrated in higher education settings is a long-standing issue that has gained increasing attention over recent years as the effects of such experiences on individuals and institutions have been further elucidated. During the early 1990s and through to the mid-2000s, numerous highly publicized incidents of sexual harassment at universities occurred and resulted in significant reports and inquiries regarding sexual harassment in higher education, contributing to a broader understanding of the nature and impacts of such violence.
These accounts suggest a cyclic presence of publicity and concern in relation to sexual harassment in higher education and illustrate a situation in the early to mid-2000s where the subject of sexual harassment in higher education had moved from being taboo and not publicly acknowledged to a subject that could be reported on, commented on, regulated, and critiqued. Jurisdictions including those in Australia, North America, and Europe began responding to these and other institutional crises by introducing legislation and policy to address the issue of sexual harassment within universities and the wider community. The presence of these policies suggests an increased concern for the issue at governmental and organizational levels, as well as the erection of a framework within which to officially address the problem and offer some redress.
Sexual violence that occurs in and around higher education campuses spans a wide range of criminal behaviors including acts of physical and sexual violence and harassment. Such acts have lasting impacts on individual undergraduate and postgraduate students as well as staff within the academy. Importantly, the significant body of research evidence in this area has identified that sexual violence in higher education is not hypothetical or imagined; it is a current, ongoing, and systemic issue, rather than the historical, non-prevalent, isolated events witnessed in earlier reports.
Sexual violence is defined as ‘any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work.’ It is recognized as both a cause and consequence of gender power inequalities, being underpinned by unequal distributions of power, resources, and opportunities between women and men. Higher education institutions are complex structures nested within both local communities and national society. Equally, values and inequalities found in the broader society, around gender and beyond, will be present within student and staff interactions. This normalization, ‘everyday-ness,’ and repetitiveness must be examined and should be of more concern than the singular high-profile investigations around rape chants or sexualized pages.
Prevalence of Sexual Violence in Higher Education
There is a widespread occurrence of sexual violence on any given institutional campus. However, it is only in the past thirty years that the topic began to receive attention. In many cases, the people in positions were not aware of the incidents until some case highlighted them. A study found that very few of these incidents of sexual violence are reported. One of the factors that contribute to high rates of sexual violence in higher education is that it is an ongoing aspect of campus culture. Women are sexually assaulted, and violence against them goes unnoticed. Furthermore, the environments on campus are usually isolated from the community, which allows students to feel anonymous when they are turned into perpetrators. Unfortunately, volatility and attractiveness are also results of a campus climate.
Apart from all of these factors, what is ultimately the most difficult is that crimes against women on campus are not widely recognized as such. It is a significant issue for the entire campus community and must be addressed as a whole. Studies found that males are most responsible for sexual violence because they are in a position of authority at a university or college. Statutory rape, which is sex with a young woman at the undergraduate level, is a serious concern.
Furthermore, it was found that students who live in dormitories are less likely to be victimized than those who live off campus in fraternities. A student is seven times more likely to be sexually assaulted if they live in military barrack-style residence halls. It was also found that new students in their first academic year are more at risk of being sexually assaulted. The rate of completed or attempted rape victimization among women in higher educational institutions is twenty percent. This rate increased to twenty-six percent in a five-year program. Finally, it was found that turning down dates with perpetrators increases the likelihood of an assault. Thus, studies are crucial to be conducted at higher education institutions to gather a full profile of what is happening on campus. Moreover, such studies will justify the need for preventive programs and will create greater awareness among students, staff within the halls of residence, and those who run and provide services to all within the halls of residence.
Statistics and Research Findings
Data from a range of research sources exist to identify the prevalence of sexual violence in higher education at both UK and international levels. There is far less data to draw from to understand the perpetration of sexual violence in these settings. The following is an analysis of existing research data which offers crucial insights into the scope of sexual violence within higher education.
Empirical research can demonstrate the scale of sexual violence within a higher education setting. Some research findings on the prevalence of sexual violence in the sector include: In a 2016 study of UK university students, across 18 institutions, it was reported that 1% had reported an incident of rape or attempted rape to their institution. Based on anonymised data across 67 institutions, the same research showed that 1.5% of students had reported an incident of rape or attempted rape to the police. The same research also used a self-reporting mechanism and showed that 2.3% of respondents had experienced rape or attempted rape in a UK university. Data was collected from 15,638 anonymous undergraduate students, aged 20 and under, during 18 higher education providers, but only 237 second-year undergraduate students responded to this question. In the first-ever survey of sexual misconduct in UK higher education, it was reported that 4.9% of 44,123 students had experienced an unwanted sexual incident (including sexual harassment, stalking, flashing, and touching) across 81 higher education institutions. At the University of Bristol, a national prevalence survey of staff and students showed that 70 women and 13 men had experienced rape and/or attempted rape (9.5% of respondents).
There are obvious problems in using these statistics to determine the prevalence of sexual violence in universities. Some research utilizes a legal definition of rape, with participants self-identifying whether they have been raped. This is problematic as it will only capture those who self-identify as having experienced that crime and may well exclude a range of other non-consensual sexual experiences. Additionally, research using survey methods may not capture the experiences of those sub-populations, such as care leavers or homeless people, who are not in formal education, or those who could not access further or higher education as a result of the trauma of sexual abuse.
Nonetheless, these findings can support the development of national and institutional interventions. In order to develop prevention and intervention agendas, discussions can be made of when. For example, the place of in loco parentis and beyond the campus can be considered as well as when and where there is harm in young people’s lives. Finally, despite all the attention to the problems of sexual violence since the movement and the proclamation that it must not resonate here, the development of a major piece of public health research and its consultation with government departments suggests a paradoxical lack of shame in us where we should be very, very much ashamed. And unless we are lifting to light such terrible truths, then we are surely doing all we can to prevent any social learning of how such crimes come about.
Impact of Sexual Violence on Students
The impact of sexual violence on victims varies greatly depending on the strength, direction, and prioritization of the protective emotional buffer that surrounds their experience. A strong and positive buffer can significantly reduce the damaging effect of sexual violence. However, in the absence of protection, the victim’s most intimate self may suffer profound distress. The collateral damage caused by sexual harassment extends to entire organizations, with significant internal costs such as decreased employee and citizen morale. These behaviors are morally wrong; they cost the organization financial resources through increased hours of work missed, and they create hostile environments that limit people’s opportunities to function effectively.
Sexual violence in universities reinforces existing discourses and expectations about appropriate behavior for women. The gendered nature of these expectations supports the status quo, reinforcing men’s rights to be in control and women’s rights to be vulnerable. These ideas reinforce normative expectations that are linked with the institution’s hierarchical culture, reflective of gendered power relations. Sexual violence reveals a dominant power structure that is congruent with gender stereotypes, where those with power prioritize their own interests. Such a culture undermines the potential contributions that postgraduate female students can make, as research reveals that gender factors shape how students encounter sexual violence in their teaching and research experiences. In addition to broader systemic factors, we should also identify the role of university curricula in reproducing and challenging sexual violence.
A review of the health consequences of sexual assault across numerous studies shows that behavioral and psychiatric health issues were reported by, respectively, 41% and 23% of participants who experienced sexual assault and that these rates were disproportionate compared to the general public. In particular, sexual assault survivors were between 21% and 35% more likely to demonstrate physical complaints or health risk behaviors, including sexually transmitted infections, abortions, central nervous system disorders, endocrine and metabolic disorders, gastrointestinal disorders, gynecological disorders, ischemic heart disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and pain. Additionally, psychological disorders such as depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts or attempts are common psychological effects of rape. The interdisciplinary work from a sexual health team also found similar damaging mental and physical health. The team found higher rates of psychiatric comorbidities and risky behaviors compared to women who were not exposed. Depressive disorders, anxiety disorders, post-traumatic stress disorders, and suicide attempts all sustained a rate ratio of over 1.5, and chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and migraines were also observed at a higher rate. Furthermore, victims of non-stranger perpetrators sustained a considerably higher rate of numerous health problems and sexual risk behaviors at a far greater rate than stranger attacks.
In addition, these effects can continue after the sexual assault. Rape survivors’ eroded health recoveries and the host of both acute and post-traumatic sequelae could be first observed after an attack and steadily decrease in the first few weeks. However, the duration of these health consequences is not limited to a few weeks but persists. Furthermore, increased chronic illness over time can also be the result of sexual health-seeking behaviors reduced after experiencing sexual assault due to anxiety, stigma, and embarrassment, harmful emotional and sexual feelings that hinder help-seeking, and the lack of satisfaction with the provided care. Although the overwhelming majority of sexual violence occurs when a student has reached the age of majority, a responsible and healthy environment includes understanding and mitigating the myriad potential adverse outcomes. The consequences for victims, particularly when they are freshmen, are significant and motivate the critical review of how established practices, both in sexual health education and in the broader health education program, can be supplemented to better make sense of the issue. Whether it highlights the importance of related areas such as mental health, student services, disability, office services, student experience, or clinical services participating in and leading these actions, we believe sexual health programs in tertiary education ought to broaden and develop new interpretative methods and resources to educate healthier personal health and connection enhancement.
Policies and Prevention Efforts
In response to the elevated rates of sexual violence, colleges and universities are currently receiving unprecedented pressure to lower reported behavior rates. Increased efforts are being made to develop and enforce strict policies and initiatives associated with changing these behaviors through prevention. Schools often make substantial changes that impact a large portion of the campus in response to one or two identified lacks of structural level prevention measures. The creators of these prevention programs assume that currently available information is effective in targeting the appropriate population, effective at changing the targeted behaviors, and that more good than harm results from implementing prevention. However, the enacted policies that directly target perpetrators and provide support and alternatives to victims have shown to be the easiest to enforce, have the most impact, and are currently receiving the most compliance.
There is an existing legal framework that requires campuses receiving federal assistance to take immediate measures to eliminate identified inequalities. Most campuses, in response to this, have implemented policies and programs that would allow victims to report and remove themselves from identified hazardous situations. Victim Services staff provide 24-hour confidential reporting options for students to report the crime, complete the investigation, secure legal representation, and coordinate victim services: health care, counseling, and psychological support, advocating with the campus community members, librarians, professors, and work-study staff. In addition, most campuses offer some form of educational programming to train people how to effectively intervene and prevent violent behaviors by creating empathy to understand how a victim would feel. Currently and historically, rape has been defined as a man forcing sex on a woman at knife point by a man that she had not known prior to the attack or through research via psychological surveys and interviews of victims. There will be no change in rape statistics until rape is defined in terms of the victim and the impact on the victim.
4.1. Title IX and Other Legal Frameworks
Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 is a federal law aimed at addressing sex-based discrimination in education. Title IX is significant for understanding sexual violence in higher education due to its requirement that colleges and universities take action on reports of sexual violence. Though it predates the issue of sexual violence as we understand it today, Title IX can be seen as an effort to address rape on campus, as well as other types of interpersonal violence. Legislative mandates connected to Title IX require colleges and universities to take specific steps in response to allegations of campus sexual violence. They also require colleges and universities to prevent discrimination before it occurs where possible, and to address patterns and systemic issues. Title IX mandates colleges and universities to improve students’ physical, emotional, and psychological safety, and guarantees the right to an education free from sex-based and sexual violence. All campuses’ compliance with these legal requirements has been associated with an increase in prevention and policy efforts. From this perspective, Title IX regulations themselves, as well as existing and revised institutional policies, may increase physical safety for students, enhance support for survivors, and otherwise meaningfully address campus culture and climate. Scholars have criticized Title IX for a narrow focus on retaliation and interference and ignore subtle related implementation practices that have not necessarily increased student safety. Like many federal policies, neither federal nor state governments have substantially evaluated Title IX’s effects or history. This disconnection is particularly significant given the rapid pace of change and new evidence about campus sexual violence, policy effectiveness, and campus experience.
