To the Editor:
We are gratified that the White House is focusing attention on the huge problem of sexual assault on college campuses. But we are disappointed by the shortsightedness of the resulting campaign attempting to prevent rape on the University of Massachusetts campus because it falls far short of addressing the true crux of the issue. We must stop assuming that potential victims and bystanders can be made responsible for stopping sexual assault and instead insist that rapists be held accountable for their criminal behavior.
According to the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), the nation’s largest anti-sexual violence organization, “In America, out of every 100 rapes, only 40 are reported to police and only three rapists will ever spend a day behind bars.” RAINN has developed a compelling series of recommendations for the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. UMass would do well to follow not just some but all of those recommendations.
RAINN advises against the common inclination to focus on particular segments of the student population or particular aspects of campus culture, stating: “Rape is caused not by cultural factors but by the conscious decisions, of a small percentage of the community, to commit a violent crime.”
Research shows that more than 90 percent of college-age males have never committed, and likely never will commit, rape. However, one study shows that 63 percent of those found to be rapists were repeat offenders who said they had committed more than one sexual assault, with the average repeat offender committing 5.8 sexual assaults.
The current UMass campaign advises women and bystanders to use “direct,” “distract” and “delegate” techniques. These techniques tip-toe around the real work that needs to be done to stop sexual assaults from occurring, however. After centuries of society blaming women for rape, when are we going to tell rapists that they are responsible for stopping rape?
UMass needs new policies as well as a campus campaign directed at would-be rapists that says, “Rape is a crime. You will be prosecuted. Your college career will end.”
Sincerely,
Lynn Barclay and Claire Barclay
Northampton
N. • Apr 1, 2014 at 5:33 pm
So in your opinion, does giving women/bystanders any sort of advice at all about what they could do in situations they might find themselves in really mean that the recipients of the advice are being held “responsible” for the acts of other participants (the presumed aggressors) in the situation? Sort if that’s worded awkwardly, but it seems to me like that’s kind of what you’re saying here, which doesn’t make sense to me at all. Do you think there is no value to giving people such advice and that it merely shifts blame to the victims?
Also, I think there has been a lot of effort in the past few years to teach about “consent”, but it has been proved to be a more contentious issue with a less obvious definition than it might seem at first glance. Consider for example the complexities of such cases as where it’s been argued that consent is retroactive (i.e. that a consented-to act becomes assault in hindsight when someone changes their mind later and under what circumstances that would happen), etc.
Finally, you seem really focused on the main solution being imprisonment. I hope it’s not necessary to elaborate too much on the fact that prison is a site of institutionalized sexual violence which perpetuates the existence of such violence both behind the walls and in society at large. If you trust the police to protect women, maybe it’s because assaults committed by cops are virtually never reported, and virtually always perpetrated against sex workers…. In short, it’s one thing to say “UMass is not doing enough” and entirely another to come up with solutions that make sense and don’t just boil down to facile demagoguery.
Aaron • Apr 1, 2014 at 2:16 pm
Lynn and Claire,
Just wanted to comment to support your stance and recommendations. I support bystander intervention training as well, but it should not be seen as the only solution, and I agree with your call for additional efforts and I like your language for a clear campaign to address potential perpetrators. Part of campus efforts, however, must include clarification of where ethical lines are because no one sees himself as a rapist. Most men who commit assault or rape are sane and have justifications for their behavior, and many of those could be reached with a proper educational program, which would also allow them to see a direct campaign like the one you recommend as relevant to them instead of having nothing to do with them. Without proper education, even rapists believe rape is awful because they imagine it to be something different from what they do.