By Billy S. Garland

Each year, thousands of women are forced to endure the horror of sexual assault. In 2008, the FBI released statistics saying that nearly 90,000 rapes were reported and considerably more than that are assumed to have occurred. The numbers for 2009 have yet to be released. Of these assaults, an incredibly large number were college age women.
At the University of Louisville, very few sexual assaults have been openly reported on the Department of Public Safety crime log over the past few years. But with reports surfacing that claim nearly a quarter of female college students suffer from sexual assaults each year, rape-oriented incidents continue to be a main focus for university officials.
They are also a focus for organizations like Prevention, Education, and Advocacy on Campus and in the Community, commonly referred to as PEACC. Melissa Johnson, project coordinator for U of L’s PEACC program, insists that educating people is key to addressing the situation. She said sexual violence is not always the stereotypical situation.
“About 75 percent of the time, the one committing the act is an acquaintance,” said Johnson. “It’s that percentage that makes this into a gray area. As a result, a lot of our work is about telling people to know your boundaries and voice your feelings. It’s important to know that it is ok to say ‘No.'”
PEACC is a college-based organization backed by the U.S. Department of Justice, with the intention of providing support to students, staff and faculty who are directly or indirectly affected by dating or domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and harassment. Johnson strongly encourages any students who have experienced situations of this type, or simply have questions, to take advantage of the services that PEACC offers.
“Another statistic that we use a lot is 1 in 20,” said Johnson. “That’s the estimated number of people that actually report an incident. We live in a culture that, unfortunately, blames the victim. I rarely hear from men. It does happen to men too.”
Men are a large part of the PEACC program. A smaller initiative within the program is known as Men of PEACC, which aims to get males involved in combating sexual violence.
In addition to the efforts of PEACC, the Department of Justice and U.S. Associate Attorney General Tom Perrelli kicked off on a nationwide campus tour on Monday, March 8.
“Why are we visiting college campuses?” said Tracy Russo, a representative from the Department of Justice, on her department outreach blog. “According to a study done by the National Institute of Justice, the percentage of completed or attempted rape victimization among women in higher educational institutions is as high as 20 to 25 percent.”
To make the matter more frightening, a yearlong study by the Center for Public Integrity showed that the majority of students found responsible for sexual assaults on campus often face few, if any, consequences from their school disciplinary systems, while the victims frequently find their lives turned inside out.  This is a continuing problem that many students can attest to. One of these students is alleged victim and former University of Wisconsin at Madison student, Laura Dunn. In 2005, she claims that she was sexually assaulted and no action was taken against her attacker.
“He started threatening me,” said Dunn in a recent interview with the Center for Public Integrity. “When he hit the wall, he used his whole forearm and just slammed within inches of my head.”
After Dunn reported the incident, it took almost nine months for the university to make any decision. And then when the decision came down, no punishment was inflicted. UW administrators cited a lack of witnesses and the involvement of alcohol as their main reasons for not pursuing disciplinary action against the aggressor, a celebrated fourth-year athlete.
“UW acted with deliberate indifference,” said Alice Purple, a former Security On Campus, Inc. legal advocate. “The harassment that Ms. Dunn was forced to undergo was so severe, pervasive and objectively offensive that it deprived her of educational benefits by forcing her to quit the crew team and causing her grades to fall.”
According to the Department of Justice, instances like this one are more common than originally expected.
“On campuses, consistency in policies that deal with violence against women is also crucial,” said Russo. “A 2005 [National Institute of Justice] study found that schools across the country are complying with federal laws unevenly. Anonymous reporting, which encourages victims to come forward, is an option at just half of America’s colleges and universities. Schools also provide basic resources unevenly. Fewer than half the schools studied inform students how to file criminal charges. This has to change now.”
U of L does provide resources to victims, if they know where to look. In 2008, university officials published the Michael Minger Act Report, which detailed the different crimes that took place in 2007. Additionally, the report gave guidelines for students who believe they have been the victim of a sexual assault.
First, students are encouraged to call the DPS emergency line, (502) 852-6111, immediately, or speak to their residence hall staff. The report also insists that the individual involved not change their clothes, bathe or take any medication. It then goes on to strongly recommend that the victim seek medical attention and counseling, after speaking with authorities. No mention of possible anonymous reporting is made in the Minger Report, but quite a bit of attention was given to the methods of prevention.
DPS has a number of safety protocols throughout campus. In addition to the security patrols and key card access for dorms, emergency phones that connect directly to the authorities are located in various spots around campus and blue emergency lights can be found along many of the on-campus walkways. PEACC and DPS also give presentations regularly to faculty, staff and students at various orientations and seminars.
Despite the attempts at prevention, sexual assaults continue to be a concern for universities and their students.
“I think what is most important is for people to know that there are often a lot of gray areas,” said Johnson. “If you have questions, contact PEACC. We offer confidential services. You don’t have to give your name. We also offer a service for people who have experienced sexual violence because of their sexual identity.  If you ever have questions, you can always come and talk to us.”
PEACC can be contacted through their Web site, louisville.edu/peacc, or Facebook. Additionally, students can follow them on twitter.com/uoflpeacc.