We have written close to 50 articles on the topic of campus sexual assaults because women on college campuses are much more likely to be targeted for sexual assault than just about anywhere else.
The prestigious Forbes Magazine in an article tells us that the female percentage has been steadily rising in higher education since the 1970’s to a point now where women outnumber men in both public and private schools. Private not for profit institutions show a ratio of 40.7-59.3 for men versus women which is the highest percentage difference of all categories of institutions.
In January of 2015 we did an article that asked the question Does Money And Notoriety Cloud Justice In Domestic Violence Cases? You can read that story and come to your own conclusion. It just so happened that an element in that article involved a Florida State University football player named Jameis Winston. Why do we bring him up? Here’s why!
Jameis Winston is a high profile football player now with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was a highly sought after high school football player who went to Florida State on a scholarship and became the youngest player to win the Heisman Trophy. He went on to become the number one draft pick in the NFL.
“During his time as a student at Florida State, Winston received national media attention for a number of incidents, including shoplifting and allegations of sexual assault.” As you might imagine, he was never convicted. Lawsuits are still swirling the air on these allegations.
Is there a double standard? You can decide.
In this story from the Orlando Sentinel a Florida State University official who was once in charge of the office of counseling rape victims, told lawyers that they are suing the school that football players receive special treatment and that most of the 20 victims who alleged sexual assaults by football players during the last nine years declined to press charges. She made these allegations in her deposition in an ongoing civil lawsuit against Winston. Fear of retaliation is the usual reason for the reluctance to testify. Without that testimony prosecutors’ hands are tied.
Fox News Analyst Martha MacCallum did an on air story recently about “The Truth About Sex And College.” In her story she mentions the rape crisis on college campuses where the statistic is one in five young women are assaulted. She had a college-age daughter and was horrified when she saw that number. She takes a long hard look at the other side where it’s possible that a college student could be falsely accused in an effort to help the school look like it’s taking the issue seriously. It is virtually impossible for a young man to get on with his life after he’s been kicked out of college for rape.
She makes the point that rushing to fix a problem and demonstrate concern may leave lives shredded in the process.
In an editorial about campus sexual assaults in the LA times, the author makes the point that the definition of sexual assault is much broader now. But the corresponding punishments do not adjust for the seriousness of a sexual assault. Everyone agrees that all sexual assaults are bad, but some are worse than others. There is a sliding scale in criminal courts and has been for hundreds of years. Certainly it must be good enough for colleges.
In Amherst, Massachusetts students at the University of Massachusetts are saying that they receive education on how to stay safe but the institutions don’t do enough to teach prevention and that their approach is not working. The students claim that they get news updates and emails but normally it’s late in getting to them.
Many things have changed in the 10 plus years that we have been writing about this topic, but one thing has not changed. We still recommend that women everywhere, but especially on a college campus, carry a nonlethal self-defense product such as a pepper spray that can disable an assailant for as long as 45 minutes
We carry close to 200 Pepper Sprays in our online store. The ones that we recommend the most are on keychains because they are more than likely to be with you when you need them.
What are your experiences with campus assaults for you and/or your daughter? Share them with us so others may benefit.