Be Heard

Jessica. Her eyes gleamed as she talked about her passions and dreams. The smile she wore on her face was contagious. She spoke with a soft voice that was too delicate to interrupt. I could tell her heart was pure. In college, innocence is a rare trait, but I saw it in Jessica. We quickly became friends and I was eager to know more about her; so unconsciously, I started with her personal life. I asked about her parents, where she was raised, and how she was doing in her first year at Arizona State University. Her eyebrows formed into an expression of doubt while her eyes quickly shifted. “It’s okay… Well, I really love my theater major and how much support I receive!” At that moment, I knew that something had happened to Jessica just by her approach. Eventually, she began to confide in me about a personal situation.

She began by telling me how her friends had convinced her to download Tinder, a well-known app that allows you to talk to people around you. That same day, she received a direct message from a boy. She was flattered, but unsure how to converse since she never flirted with boys. He told her he also attended Arizona State and lived on campus. It was about 9 pm, and he asked her to meet up with him that same day, so they could study. By her standards it was late, but her friends assured her that it was perfectly normal to meet a stranger at night alone.

She found herself in front of an unfamiliar dorm near his presumed room number. Only a few words were exchanged when he decided to lean in for a kiss. She froze and was filled with anxiety. He kissed her. Jessica attempted to engage in a conversation, but he ignored her words and pressed his lips onto hers. She did not feel comfortable and asked him to stop. With infuriation, he voiced, “This is what college students do.”

Before she could respond, his crawling hands embraced her body. Countless times, she repeatedly said to him, “No, stop,” “Get off me,” and “I don’t want to,” but he didn’t. Clearly, she did not give consent.

Although this male student gave up before forced intercourse, Jessica was still sexually assaulted by him. Many of her friends tried to convince her otherwise since she initially allowed him to kiss her. Martha Burt, a well-known psychologist from the Urban Institute, defines this type of mindset as “rape myth acceptance.” This is a “prejudicial, stereotyped, or false belief about rape, rape victims, and rapists" (qtd. in Breitenbecher 24). In generations past, society viewed sexual assault as an incident that could have been avoided by the victim. However, the message from the opposing side acknowledges that “no” means “no.” Kimberly Breitenbecher, a psychology professor at Northern Kentucky University, uses examples to demonstrate this misconception. One is that “girls ask for it” (24). This is a false belief that many students have today, which leads to victims of sexual assault not wanting to file a report.

This traumatic event consumed Jessica’s mental health. Immediately she felt depressed, anxious, paranoid, and detached. She had finally convinced herself to seek help from the university’s counseling services. The counselor guided and assisted her to mental health recovery. She learned it was not her fault and that sexual assault is “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient” (U.S. Department of Justice). When people are afraid to seek help, and assume the university cannot help, the perpetrator can repeat the same behavior. Therefore, Jessica’s counselor recommended that she report and open a case about the sexual assault.

Jessica was one of the 22% of students that sought help from an on-campus resource. Sadly, “80% of assaults go unreported. In 89% of the cases, assailants are not held responsible.” (Buchholz). Universities around the nation need to educate staff and students on what behavior constitutes sexual assault. Knowing that the university will hold the assailants responsible, victims will feel comfortable reporting the incidents. Holding the assailants responsible is easier said than done. As a health psychologist professor, Laura Buchholz, argues that if we choose to ignore incidents of sexual assault and pretend they don’t occur, then they won’t go away. Universities have sexual assault prevention programs, but how effective are they? Breitenbecher concludes the changes in students’ attitudes and behavioral intentions are minimal, which makes the current prevention attempts insufficient.

According to Buchholz, one of the reasons that sexual assault is underreported is that “Colleges have an interest in maintaining their reputations and avoiding fines and potential loss of student aid that can come from running afoul of Title IX regulations.” These situations are tragic, but people need to know that it happens and that victims are being heard, not shushed. Universities can start by accepting that sexual assault occurs on every college campus, instead of covering up incidents. If college administrators promote this, all the stories that were hidden to the public can be used as awareness of what defines sexual assault.

Sexual assault education and programs are becoming more accessible on college campuses. For these programs to succeed, people need to know that sexual assault victims are taken seriously. Education will equip students with the do’s, don’ts, and how’s in regards to dealing with sexual assault situations. In turn, this will change fixed attitudes of college students from not knowing to knowing. I became more aware of what sexual assault is just by Jessica sharing her story with me. If we—fellow students and administrators alike—are willing to listen, then more awareness will be spread.






Works Cited
Breitenbecher, Kimberly H. “Sexual Assault on College Campuses: Is an Ounce of Prevention Enough?” Applied and Preventive Psychology, vol. 9, no. 1, 2000, pp. 23-52, http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962184905800368. Accessed 12 April 2017.
Buchholz, Laura. “The Role of University Health Centers in Intervention and Prevention of Campus Sexual Assault.” JAMA, vol. 314, no. 5, 2015, pp. 438-440. doi:10.1001/jama.2015.8213. Accessed 22 April 2017.
United States Department of Justice. “Sexual Assault Definition.” 2017. www.justice.gov, https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault. Accessed 22 April 2017.