Katherine Albers

Exploration Project
Ginny Walters
April 1, 2016
Exploring Inequity on Campus
In college campuses of today, there is a great inequity between the survivors and
perpetrators of sexual assault in regards to who is blamed. When looking at the differences
between those involved in sexual assault it is important to note that there is not just an inequality,
which simply means that there are two things that are not the same, but an inequity, which means
that there is an unjust difference (Dussault). It is also important to understand that in this paper
the terms rape and sexual assault are used interchangeably, however, in other contexts the
words can be used to refer to tow different things. The survivors of sexual assaults on
Universities across the United States often face barriers if they decide to attempt to report their
rape or assault cases and a lack of belief and support if they manage to get a person of authority
to listen (The Hunting Ground). Perpetrators, on the other hand, are often not seen as people who
have committed a crime, are not reported, and do not face just punishment for their crimes.
Survivors should be able to be recognized and supported when they have been assaulted so that
they can be empowered instead of silenced when trying to gain justice against their perpetrators.
When society is able to recognize that survivors are not responsible for their own rapes or even
for reporting their rapes, then the focus will shift to the root of every rape, the perpetrator. The
perpetrator will be held accountable to face the consequences for their actions and, therefore, be
less likely to commit the same criminal acts in the future. Only when society shifts its focus in
this way will the inequity between survivors and perpetrators be resolved.
Before looking more closely at sexual assault, it is important to keep in mind that females
and males alike can be victims or perpetrators. When one discusses rape the focus is usually

centered on womens experiences, however men are raped too. Those involved in sexual assault
and rape research often do not think to ask males if they have ever been on the receiving end of
sexual misconduct, so very little research is present about male survivors in rape cases. However,
author Jon Krakauer mentioned in this novel Missoula that the Center for Disease Control and
Prevention reported in September, 2014 that approximately two and a half million American
men alive today will be raped in their lifetimes, 1.7 percent of the male population (xiii-xiv).
Society at large tends to believe a number of myths about male rape cases that, if they are
believed to be true, discourage the idea that men can be victims of rape as well. In the book Male
Victims of Rape and Sexual Abuse the authors list some of the falsely believed myths including:
The presence of erection or ejaculation implies consent on behalf of the survivorA male
cannot be forced to have sex against his willMales are less affected by sexual assault than
females (Coxell 381-82). Males can be and are survivors of rape, and this fact should not be
ignored simply because of preconceived notions about men.
Unfortunately, sexual assault of both women and men on college campuses is not a new
problem in the United States. One of the first published studies about sexual violence on college
campuses was released in 1957 (Kamenetz). The leading event that drew public attention to rape
on campus was in 1986 when Jeanne Clery was raped then murdered in her dormitory on the
Lehigh University, Pennsylvania campus. While this rape was by no means the first to happen at
a university, the horrendous event caused Jeannes parents to rally against crimes committed on
campuses. This was also one of the first times that national attention was brought to the fact that
University administrators did not report campus crimes to students and their families, nor were
they legally required to do so (Our History). Yet in 1987 a national survey of college going

men found that 7.7 percent of male students volunteered anonymously that they had engaged in
or attempted forced sex[yet] almost none considered it to be a crime (Kamenetz).
Jeanne Clerys parents fought for years to promote campus safety. Finally, in 1990
Congress approved the Crime Awareness and Campus Safety Act, which was later renamed the
Jeanne Clery Act. As stated in the Clery Center website, the Clery Act requires colleges and
universities to disclose their security policies, keep a public crime log, publish an annual crime
report, and provide timely warnings to students and campus employees about a crime posing an
immediate or ongoing threat to students and campus employees (Our History). The Clery Act
was amended in 2013 with the Campus Save Act. This amendment mandates that Universities
provide education for students, faculty, and staff on the prevention of sexual assault, rape,
domestic violence, and stalking. On campussaveact.org the act is summarized as an amendment
that will mandate extensive primary prevention and awareness programs regarding sexual
misconduct and related offenses (The Campus Sexual). The Campus Save Acts focus on
primary prevention, the act of reducing rape by focusing on the people who commit rape, instead
of risk reduction, which involves telling potential rape victims how to behave in order to prevent
their own rape from occurring (The Campus Sexual). In other words, this means that the
Campus Save Act wants to hold perpetrators accountable instead of blaming the victims.
However, rapes still occur at an alarming rate on college campuses. For instance, between 2009
and 2015 Harvard University had 135 sexual assaults on record (The Hunting Ground).
Statistics on college rape cases are useless if college students do not know what to do
when an actual rape occurs. The first thing to note is that reporting the rape is not the best option
for every survivor. Many people who hear about a close friends rape feel that reporting the
crime is the only way to move forward, however the process of reporting is often described by

survivors as worse than the actual rape. This is due to the long process of filing a report and
answering questions for a variety of authority figures who may have a variety of opinions on if
the rape case is legitimate or not (Krakauer). Relieving the rape over and over again is not ideal
for most survivors. If the survivor does not want to report their case, the Womens Center is a
phenomenal resource on campus at Minnesota State University (MSU). It is a safe place where
anyone who enters will find support, sympathy, and a strong community of people who
ultimately want what is best for the survivor whatever that may be. If the survivor does decide to
report their rape, contacting campus security is the most direct route. Important information
about the sexual violence complaint process is available to all students in the online Minnesota
State College and University handbook under section 1B.3 (1B.3 Sexual Violence).
Ideally, MSU would not need to use the sexual violence complaint process or the
resources for rape survivors at the Womens Center, but rapes do happen. Many people choose
not to notice or care because it does not affect them directly, but what does that say about the
community of Minnesota State? Being a part of the student body, faculty, and staff at MSU
means that we are all connected. Some are more deeply connected in smaller communities within
the college and others feel the connection with the larger Mankato population, but everyone
belongs to a part of the community. As Peter Block writes in his book about community, The
context that restores community is one of possibility, generosity, and gifts rather than one of
problem solving, fear, and retribution (29). MSU needs to be a community that realizes that
rape is not just a problem to be solved. Survivors of rape are a part of our community not a side
effect of sexual violence. Block also notes that care and accountably create a stronger, healthier
community (30-31). If the students, faculty, and staff change their viewpoint to focus on
generosity, care, and accountability then the bonds of MSU community will be create a deeper

connection and sexual assault will be less likely to occur. The people of MSU must actively
choose not to blame the survivors of rape. The survivors should not be talked about with a sense
of fear but rather with an air of restoring the community to a place of care and accountability.
Furthermore, the blame must shift to the perpetrators because only then will they be held
responsibly for their actions, face just repercussions, and choose not to commit the same crime
again. Only when this happens will the inequity between survivors and perpetrators cease to
exist.

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