LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — As UNLV students begin their return to campus this month, a new study is highlighting the problem of sexual violence in colleges across the country and how likely young men are to intervene.
A non-profit calledIt’s On Us surveyed men at UNLV and 19 other schools across the nation. They found men on college campuses feel they don’t have the right tools or training to stop a sexual assault. The report also says young men are not aware of how big of a problem it really is.
Executive Director of It’s On Us, Tracey Vitchers, says the young men who participated in this study viewed sexual assault as a problem limited to Greek life or to schools with a big athletic presence, but she says not the case. Their research says one in five women, one in 13 men, and one in four transgender or gender non-conforming students will experience sexual assault on college campuses across the country.
The most recent annual report from UNLV shows there were 50 sexually violent crimes reported on campus in 2019. They didn’t report any numbers for 2020 because students weren’t on campus during the pandemic.
Researchers call the first six to eight weeks on campus the “red zone,” it’s when the vast majority of sexual assaults happen during the year.
You may be wondering why the study focuses specifically on men. Vitchers answered that question, saying “we can’t only be talking about who is most at risk for sexual violence, we also need to be talking to those men who are in the best position to stop it from happening.”
Vitchers said 90% of campus sexual assaults are committed by repeat offenders who are only about 5-6% of the total student population. Unchecked, they can commit up to ten sexual assaults during their time on campus and still have less than a 50% chance of being reported.
The young men surveyed said they want in-person prevention training where they have the opportunity to ask questions and practice muscle memory on what to do and say in a potentially dangerous situation.
“If you see something that might be going down that might be sketchy, or you think might be happening that can lead to a sexual assault, what do you say? What do you do? How do you be that active bystander? They really felt they didn’t have the opportunity to do that through online training,” Vitchers added.
It’s On Us provides free small group prevention education programs for colleges that want to participate. The non-profit trains the trainer, working with school administration and students who will take the lead in changing the culture on campus.
