Why They Don’t Say Anything: Secondary Victimization of Sexual Assault Victims on College and University Campuses

• In Event: Empowerment: The Resilience of Women in Various Crisis Situations

Abstract

Sexual violence is a major problem on college campuses. Nationwide, 20%- 25% of all women experience some type of sexual assault while they are in college (McMahon & Banyard, 2012). That equates to 353 sexual assaults on a campus of 10,000 female students each year. It should be noted that these statistics are based on reported sexual assaults. Sexual assaults are traditionally under-reported for a variety of reasons thus, the extent to which college women experience sexual violence is not known. One of the most prevalent reasons that students do not report sexual assaults while at college is fear of secondary victimization from the school which can entail anything from being blamed for their assault to having disciplinary action taken against them. This fear is not unfounded as evidenced from recent events at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Michigan State University which will be the focus of this paper.

Author

• Rashona Sharpless, University of North Carolina at Charlotte