Most sexual assaults on Oklahoma college campuses involve someone who is known

Sexual assaults at Oklahoma universities almost always occur in on-campus student housing, according to data submitted to the U.S. Department of Education.

Of 23 rapes reported at the state’s four-year public institutions in 2014 — the most recent data available — 22 were incidents at student housing facilities.

“These tend to be situations where someone is at least familiar with the person who is being accused. Maybe it’s someone they’ve been on a date with or someone they’ve know for years,” said Adrienne Martinez, Title IX coordinator at the University of Central Oklahoma.

College campuses are no different from other places. Martinez said national statistics indicate nine of 10 people who report sexual assault are familiar with the perpetrator.

In 2014, one rape was reported on the UCO campus, five were reported on the Oklahoma State University campus and 11 were reported on the University of Oklahoma campus.

American colleges and universities are required to disclose reported crimes on their campuses, including incidents of sexual assault. The numbers are available on the Department of Education’s website.

An American Association of University Women analysis of the data shows that 91 percent of college campuses nationwide reported zero incidents of rape in 2014.

The numbers don’t reflect campus climate surveys, academic research or what students report, according to the analysis.

“The abundance of zeros in the 2014 reports raises real concerns about how colleges are handling sexual assault incidents on campus,” said Lisa Maatz, vice president of government relations at AAUW.

Statistics show that 1 in 4 to 5 women and 1 in 12 to 16 men will experience an unwanted sexual encounter before they graduate, Martinez said.

Zero incidents could mean the institution isn’t reporting accurately what’s happening on campus or it could indicate individuals don’t feel comfortable coming forward with their experiences, she said.

‘It’s On Us’

Helping students at UCO feel comfortable reporting sexual violence, stalking, bullying and harassment — whether it happens to them or someone else — is the job of Michelle Stansel, prevention and advocacy coordinator for Project SPEAK (Support, Promote, Educate, Advocate for Knowledge).

“We’re very focused on it,” Stansel said. “We do activities and programs throughout the school year.”

Many of the events are student-driven.

“Peer-to-peer education tends to be very effective,” Stansel said. “They’re the ones who have the vision, and I’m the one who helps steer them and then implement it.”

Martinez said conversations about dating violence, consent and sexual assault start at student orientation, and all new students get information about required training.

They are educated about campus resources, confidential support and reporting options for victims of assaults.

Stansel reports assault statistics, but keeps confidential identifying information.

It’s the student’s decision whether to report the incident to campus officials and/or local police.

She also works to educate students, staff, faculty and the community that sexual violence awareness and prevention is everyone’s responsibility.

“We’ve adopted a national campaign called ‘It’s On Us,’” she said.

Concerns that helping someone in an abusive situation could be an overreaction or dangerous can prevent people from intervening, Stansel said.

She stresses the four D’s of bystander intervention — direct, delegate, distract or delay.

The first three are tactics to use during an incident, while the last teaches how to be supportive if a person comes to you after being assaulted.

Programs and resources

online

AT A GLANCE

EVENTS AT UCO

EDMOND — The University of Central Oklahoma is hosting a series of events throughout April to educate the campus and community about sexual violence. Events include:

• “It’s On Us,” 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Nigh University Center Food Court. Learn about the national initiative that makes it everyone’s responsibility to end sexual violence on campuses. Attendees will learn how to recognize, identify and intervene in situations where consent has not or cannot be given.

• Carry the Weight Consent Panel, 6 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Center for Transformative Learning Radke Fine Arts Theatre. Inspired by the activism and art of Columbia University student Emma Sulkowicz, mattresses will travel campus and remind students that the entire community “carries the weight” of sexual violence.

• #TunedIntoConsent, all day April 18-22, throughout campus. The event will showcase the work of University of North Dakota graduate student and residence hall director Peyton Lipscomb to spark conversations about consent through popular song lyrics.

• “Yes Means Yes” Workshop, 1 to 2 p.m. April 20, Transformative Learning Quadrangle TV lounge. Learn about informed consent. What does consent look like? How should I ask for consent?

For more information, contact Michelle Stansel at mstansel@uco.edu. are revised continually using student input, Stansel said.

Assessing the effectiveness of the various campus programs can be difficult, Martinez said.

The number of incidents reported should go up as individuals feel more comfortable using the reporting system, she said.