Accounts of rape on campus generally go unreported

04/14/05 - Rape and sexual assault is common on college campuses, including the University of Rhode Island. However, statistics show that most victims do not go to the police or seek help."Statistically one in four women are sexually assaulted," Keith LaBelle, the assistant coordinator of the Violence Against Women Prevention Program, said. "It happens here no more than anywhere else."

Rape, according to the Sexual Assault and Trauma Resource Center of R.I., is a form of sexual assault that results in unwanted penetration without one's consent, or when a person is unable to give consent.

Dean of Student Life Fran Cohen said more students seek help since the Violence Against Women Prevention Center was established four years ago.

"More people are coming forward for help, but there is still reluctance," Cohen said.

According to URI police, since September there have been only three sexual assault cases reported, and investigations stopped because the victims did not wish to continue. According to the URI Violence Against Women Prevention Program, only two percent of rapes are reported to the police.

"Victims don't want to go further with the investigations," Barbara McDonald, a campus police officer, said. "They don't want to continue with the pain that occurred."

McDonald said the prosecution process is long, and many times victims only have circumstantial evidence to prove their case. LaBelle said that anecdotally, there are cases of drug-facilitated sexual assaults, however the drugs pass through the body after victims arrive for testing.

Jennifer Longa, the coordinator of Violence Against Women Prevention Program, said the definition of rape can be unclear to victims, and many times women can feel violated or uncomfortable, but do not know they have been raped.

"Rape is most prevalent among acquaintances," LaBelle said. "Since it isn't a stranger, they [the victims] assume it's not rape."

Other factors that can contribute to the confusion of whether or not a person was raped are the lack of physical injuries.

"It [rape] doesn't look like it does on TV," Labelle said. He said the belief that only physical violence constitutes rape is a myth, yet some people assume that rape requires physical injuries. Longa said over 66 percent rape victims have no physical injuries.

However, Longa said there are a lot of psychological factors that can result from sexual assault. She said victims could suffer from depression, anxiety, sleeplessness, changes in sexual behavior and eating disorders, which can eventually hurt a student's performance in school.

Longa said the URI administration is aware of the psychological effects of rape, and works with professors to offer extensions on assignments.

"It's a great thing that URI doesn't sweep the issue under the rug," Labelle said. "A lot of other schools are not as supported by administration."

LaBelle said the risk of sexual assault and rape applies to all females, without regard to race, social class or age. He added that locations where rape occurs are not exclusive to stereotypical locations, but most of the time, it happens in the victim's residence.

On campus and nationally, the most prevalent time for sexual assault is in the first six weeks of freshman year, Longa said.

Longa and LaBelle both stress that education of sexual assault is important in prevention.

"This is not just a women's issue, it's a men's issue too," Labelle said. "There are male victims." He said the issue is one that men should be educated about because the effects of sexual assault are not exclusive to women and can be devastating to those who are victims.

The Violence Against Women Prevention Program provides informational sessions, classes and peer advocacy for victims from URI. It is located in the Women's Center and is open Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The program was approved for university funding and will officially change its name to Violence Prevention and Advocacy Services on July 1. To contact the program, call 874-9293 or e-mail peerinfo@etal.uri.edu. Labelle said all calls and e-mails are confidential.