Statistics on College Sexual Assaults/Vanderbilt Sex Assault Case Analysis
Sexual assaults in colleges have become known for the frequent, ongoing cases in which the accused are given little if any strong repercussions for their crimes, such as expulsions or criminal charges/jail time. Significant factors influencing this include the massive underreporting of rapes, which can be due to various factors. The news media can also play a massive role in the level of attention paid to rape trials, which can distinctly be seen between Vanderbilt's sexual assault trial and the multiple sexual assault accusations made at Louisiana State.
One significant factor for the low rates of criminal charges against the college student perpetrators of sexual assault is that only 12% of college students report their assaults to police, according to KnowYourIX. The reasons why they don't report include: not wanting others to know; lack of proof, fear of retaliation; being unsure of whether what exactly happened, did not know how to report; or fear of being treated poorly by the criminal justice system). Consequently, many rapes are grossly under-reported, which leads to low conviction rates.
Another key factor for the low rates of punishment includes the false belief that many accusations are untrue. On the contrary, only 2-10% of rapes are false reports, and this rate is not dissimilar to the false reporting rates of other crimes, according to KnowYourIX. Along with media coverage, these two factors often play major roles in sexual assault cases in colleges. The recent Vanderbilt rape case is a unique anomaly given the usual outcomes of college assault trials and can be analyzed in views of assaults in other colleges.
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The Vanderbilt rape case is a prime example of how the media influences sexual assault trials. How it only takes publicity and news coverage for sexual assault victims to receive justice. Most importantly, Vanderbilt reveals how little we view SA victims' struggles but how little we view the need is to correct the predatory behavior exhibited by the abusers. The rareness of the Vanderbilt trial comes from its guilty verdict, and it's a crusade for justice by way of being nationally recognized. Yet, what happens to sexual assault cases in universities of a lower profile? Are all sexual assault cases treated as equal?
Before we can determine the answer, we must explore the nature and impact of the Vanderbilt trial against other universities with low profile cases.
Four Vanderbilt football players, "Brandon Vandenburg, Corey Batey, Brandon Banks, and Jaborian Mckenzie were accused and charge with five counts of aggravated rape and two counts. Of aggravated sexual battery," after they raped and beat a woman at a party, according to VanderbiltHustler. The trials took about five years to complete, with Vandenburg being the last of the four to be sentenced once charged with tampering with evidence. Although it took five years for all verdicts to be decided as guilty, justice was served. So do we consider this a win for the cause?
The answer is no, not after there are still institutions with predator sympathizers. Take, for instance,e Louisiana State University (LSU). How ironic is it that the Title IX administrator is the same person that is the most lenient towards sexual assault accusations that are brought forth. If you are unaware, Title IX is an education amendment stating:
"No person in the United States shall, based on sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving federal financial assistance."
Title IX is supposedly an excellent tool for preventing sexual assault since it is an amendment banning just that. Yet, what good is Title IX when administrators like Jonathan Sanders are the face for the cause? Sanders is known for serving low-level punishments to sexual abusers. LSU's guilty students still get to continue their coursework without any interruptions. To understand the magnitude of the situation at hand, let's look at the stats. Under Sanders, 48 students have been responsible for sexual assault. Out of those, 48, 18 have been suspended, 14 on academic probation, 11 have deferred suspension, and two have received warnings. None have been tried or convicted. Those who reported the abuse were gaslit with questions like: "What clothes did your wear?"
Eastern Michigan University claims that law enforcement is actively investigating more than 30 sexual assault cases yet, 11 women are suing EMU for "covering up and failing to adequately address sexual assault cases."
The sad realization is that thousands of more SA victims face the same fate at their prospective universities. The fear of living with their trauma, knowing that their abusers are still likely to be walking among them. The fear of knowing that your abuser could be in the same class and there is nothing you can do about it because your case and your story were treated inefficiently. Why does it take national coverage for our voices to be heard and tell our stories? When will we know peace?
Sources:
https://www.knowyourix.org/issues/statistics/