Obama’s Sexual Assault Initiative To Tackle College Rape, Victims’ Health, And Criminal Justice Response
In America, about 22 million women — that’s one in every five — have been raped in their lifetime. According to a report released by the Obama administration Wednesday, the government is renewing its effort to combat sexual assault by creating a task force to come up viable solutions to address the problem.
“We need to encourage young people, men and women, to realize that sexual assault is simply unacceptable,” said President Barack Obama, according to The Washington Post. “And they’re going to have to summon the bravery to stand up and say so, especially when the social pressure to keep quiet or to go along can be very intense.”
The report, which was released by the White House Council on Women and Girls, found that multiracial women are more targeted for rape than others. About 33.5 percent of multiracial women reported having been raped, followed by 27 percent of American Indian women, 22 percent of black women, 19 percent of white women, and 15 percent of Hispanic women. But women aren’t the only victims of rape. About one in every 71 men has been raped in their lifetime. Of those male rape victims, most of them were assaulted before the age of 10. For women, nearly half of female rape victims were raped before the age of 18.
Of particular interest in the report was the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. One in five women has been sexually assaulted while in college. College party culture may be to blame for the high rate of sexual assault on campus. “The dynamics of college life appear to fuel the problem, as many victims are abused while they’re drunk, under the influence of drugs, passed out, or otherwise incapacitated,” the report said. “Most college victims are assaulted by someone they know – and parties are often the site of these crimes.”
The Council also noted that campus rapists tend to be serial offenders, with the 63 percent of those who admitted to sexual assault or attempted sexual assault saying they committed an average of six rapes each. And while rape is such a pervasive problem, only about 12 percent of victims report the violence to authorities. “We need to keep saying to anyone out there who has ever been assaulted — you are not alone,” Obama said. “You will never be alone. We’ve got your back. I’ve got your back.”
So what does the Obama administration intend to do about the problem? The President announced a new task force that will focus on addressing sexual assault on college campuses, according to The New York Times. The task force will have 90 days to recommend steps colleges and universities can take to prevent and respond to sexual assault on campus. It will also propose new ways for schools to get federal agencies involved in sexual assault matters at schools where faculty and administration fail to adequately address the matter.