Stopping sexual assault requires a coordinated effort by campus personnel and security, the students attending the college, families, and local law enforcement. Ideally, predators looking to cause harm to people are either deterred from committing a sexual assault or at the minimum apprehended and prosecuted after an attack. Here is how colleges can work to prevent sexual assault and stop dangerous people from taking over the national news.
Why Awareness of Sexual Assault Is Such a Big Deal
Sexual assault persists when people choose not to educate themselves on consent, safety, and security. According to a five-year study done by United Educators, about 67% of alleged perpetrators of college campus sexual assault felt the school failed to follow its own disciplinary procedures when handling sexual misconduct. If the perpetrators themselves speak down on disciplinary issues, then that is a sign that a perpetrator doesn't take the school's policy on sexual assault seriously. Zero tolerance must be enforced by universities around the country.
How College Campuses Can Prevent Sexual Assault
Over 3,500 pieces of legislation are introduced in each General Assembly. That amounts to nearly 40 bills per legislative day that members have to review, including legislation concerning campus programs for preventing sexual assault. Methods to stop sexual assault on campuses focus on keeping students and faculty aware of what's happening, notifying authorities of foul play, and teaching students what consent means. Without these techniques, schools around the country would face an even bigger threat of sexual assault.
This is why it is extremely important for colleges' to take this issue into their own hands. Every college should hold itself accountable for handling any sexual assault case that occurs on its campus and making sure it has the best rules in place to handle these sorts of issues.
Encourage Students to Partake In a Buddy System
This system makes it so that students aren't walking around campus by themselves. A buddy system means one student walks with another, both students take the bus together, wait for rides together, bike home together, etc. This system prevents perpetrators from attacking unsuspecting victims at night. Likewise, having someone else there when you're feeling less than your best can deter criminals from targeting people who they believe are easy prey. Schools should always be on the lookout for ways to prevent their students from feeling alone and unsafe.
Educate Students and Faculty On Consent
Consent occurs when one party makes a clearly communicated agreement to engage in a sexual encounter. Should the consenting party be under the influence of drugs or alcohol, then they are unable to provide consent. Likewise, an unconscious or underage student cannot legally give consent, neither can anyone who is being intimidated or threatened in some way. At some point during the school year, students should all know this information.
Implement Security Measures
Students looking to feel safer on campus should be pleased to note that an increasing number of college campuses employ security cameras, security guards, and a community notification system that alerts students and faculty alike to potentially suspicious activity, threats, or disturbing behavior. Students struggling with a drug addiction should know that methadone remains in the body for a long period, about 1-3 days to be precise. Should everyone on campus have an idea of who's at risk and what's going on, criminals looking to hurt people won't have the time or opportunity to do so. Schools can take advantage of an SMS alerting system to let students know of important information related to crime and safety on campus. Without such a system in place, students would have to worry about not being notified about suspicious activity and having to react at the last minute.
Safety starts with awareness. Students who know what consent means are better informed to make the right decisions and not put themselves in situations where something can go wrong. Campuses can prevent sexual assault by working together as a community to support and advocate for victims. No matter what, sexual assault on Mississippi campuses is a serious topic that shouldn't be ignored.
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