A timely reminder

WE SAY Sexual Assault Awareness Week was a good start, but not a solution.

The Interfraternity Council took a great step this week in helping end sexual assault on campus with their Sexual Assault Awareness Week. Council members have spent the week distributing teal awareness ribbons, collecting donations for Middle Way House and displaying banners listing ways to prevent sexual assault.

Their efforts couldn’t come at a better time.

Sexual assault is alarmingly prevalent on college campuses, and IU is unfortunately no exception.  As spring approaches, and especially with Little 500 around the corner, students are likely to party a little more than usual to celebrate the end of a tough semester. While partying can be safe, many students find themselves in dangerous situations. And while sexual assault is by no means exclusive to parties, the combination of alcohol and relaxed inhibitions can increase the risk.

The IFC realizes that awareness is the first step. There are many misconceptions about sexual assault, especially regarding what counts as sexual assault and whether the victim is partially responsible.

Any non-consensual sexual act is sexual assault.

It is never the victim’s fault.

No matter how much alcohol the victim has consumed, what they were (or were not) wearing or how much they were flirting, lack of consent means an assault took place.

While we applaud the actions of the IFC, we hope they will not confine this issue to one where all the victims are heterosexual women and all the perpetrators are heterosexual men. Both men and women can be victims and perpetrators. If sexual assault against women is underreported, sexual assault against men is even more so, and sexual assault committed by women is the least understood of all.

Furthermore, this is an issue which affects not just the straight community, but the GLBT community as well. People of all sexual orientations and identities can become involved in sexual assault situations, and it is vital that awareness efforts recognize this.

Sexual assault is a complex problem, one which stems from a large variety of causes. Though they do not excuse illegal behavior, societal and cultural influences, the ubiquity of binge drinking and the unfinished maturity of young adulthood all play a role in the occurrence of sexual assault on campus.

The most successful prevention programs will address both the variety of situations that constitute sexual assault and their numerous causes.