Many college sexual assaults go unreported-both by the victims when the crime occurs and by the University for reporting purposes. In this article we will discuss why so many campus sexual assaults go unreported. It may give you some insights into this pervasive topic-campus sexual assaults.
It has been estimated that only one out of every 10 campus sexual assaults ever even gets reported to campus authorities. The reasons for this lack of reporting are relatively clear. Since the assailants are known to the victims in well over 80% of the cases and are more than likely classmates or may even live in the same dormitory, there is a certain amount of fear of retribution should the sexual assault come to light.
Other contributing factors are drugs or alcohol. Not that college students would every use drugs or alcohol, especially on a Friday night before homecoming, but when a female student is unconscious because of a drug or alcohol overdose she may not even remember what happened and thus is unable to accurately report it.
Another factor in this lack of reporting is peer pressure. Once the victim starts talking about crime to her friends, more than likely they will encourage her and put pressure on her not to report it because of all the social interactions. One of the big reasons that students go to College is to become more sophisticated in their social behavior. Socialization is huge in college. The ability to get along is used as a tool to encourage silence.
So those are the reasons why many college students never report these felony crimes to University officials. On the other side of the coin, why is it that the Universities are inaccurate in their reporting of these crimes? The reasons again are relatively simple. They cluster around the reputation of the University and the ability to raise money to support the University.
Universities are required to report all crimes committed on campus by Title IX and the Clery Act. These reports then become part of the public record of the University and are available for scrutiny by potential students, faculty, graduates and other interested parties who may be donors at some point in the future.
No one wants to be associated with a University that has a bad track record for sexual assault.
So how do universities cheat on these reports and mislead the public? The best example is a student who may commit sexual assault. As long as it is internally investigated by the University, which officials encourage of victims, they may choose to report a violation of the student handbook, rather than a felony sexual assault.
In any event, 25 to 30 % of all women on campus will be victims of rape or attempted rape in their four years at the University. It is up to them to learn how to defend against these crimes. The best way to do it is with a self-defense product such as a pepper spray or stun gun. We have always recommended that women carry a pepper spray that’s on a keychain because that way it is with her most of the time.
We have over 100 Keychain Pepper Sprays to choose from. Any one of them is an effective defense against assaults, but this Streetwise Pepper Spray on a keychain is our biggest seller perhaps because of the selling price of $4.95 or perhaps because it is 46% hotter than competing brands.