In a newly-released survey, students at 27 of the nation's leading colleges and universities report high rates of sexual harassment and assault. Women students, in particular, disclose significant rates of nonconsensual sexual contact and penetration, often by their male peers.
This data is not surprising, given recent attention to campus sexual assault in the media and by elected officials. But it is deeply troubling, even when many students also said the incidents were not serious enough to file a report. And it raises questions about what colleges and universities can do to prompt change in students' treatment of each other.
Unfortunately, but also not surprisingly, there is no easy fix. Colleges and universities may exist apart from the rest of the world in some respects, but societal problems do not evaporate at campus borders. Data also show that this age cohort, whether in or out of college, experiences the highest rates of sexual assault within the adult population. It would also be naïve to think that the sexual objectification pervasive in popular culture has no impact on how people, including college students, interact with each other.
Yet one might wonder why some of these young adults would work so hard to get into college and then harass or assault classmates after they arrive, putting both themselves and others at risk. Ongoing research will surely reveal more in the coming years to enhance our understanding of these dynamics and strengthen our interventions.
But even now, we know that multiple factors contribute to the unacceptable, high rates of peer-to-peer harassment and assault. Excessive alcohol use, for example, which remains rampant even on campuses with strict penalties for drinking, heightens the risk that a student will perpetrate or be subjected to an assault.
Neuroscience also confirms that the absence of a fully mature prefrontal cortex in the brains of older adolescents and young adults can impede good judgment and raise the risk of harmful or dangerous conduct as well, including some of the conduct addressed by the AAU survey.
Other research shows that hostile attitudes toward women correlate with perpetration and that anxiety, low self-esteem, and related mental health issues can correlate with behavioral choices that enhance vulnerability.
Put simply, the background landscape for young adults, both in and out of college, is profoundly complex. So, too, is the social context. Communication about sex and sexuality can be challenging for people of all ages, and particularly so for young people who are in the midst of learning about themselves, their desires, and their core values.
Considering these factors and our cultural context together, it becomes clear that change will not come easily or quickly. Yet, with thoughtful, specialized outreach, we can and should find ways to reach students during this psychologically and emotionally tumultuous time of their adult lives.
Regular discussions of consent, the role of alcohol, and the basics of healthy relationships during orientation and the academic year are a start. Last spring, Columbia also introduced a Sexual Respect and Community Citizenship Initiative that provided students with multiple options -- through workshops, creative arts, and more - to reflect and act on the link between sexual respect and membership in a University community.
Many schools have also incorporated bystander-intervention training into their programming, helping students acquire skills to look out for their peers and disrupt potentially harmful situations. Echoing this message, the White House "It's On Us" campaign encourages students and others to "be part of the solution" to sexual assault on college campuses.
The Association of American Universities survey suggests this message is taking hold. A majority of students, including more women than men, report that they have taken some type of action when they were concerned about a peer.
Fair, sensitive and effective disciplinary processes are also important but they, too, are not a prevention panacea. Many students will continue to prefer to seek counseling, rather than the disciplinary or law enforcement processes, as a means of healing from trauma.
We, together with our students, need to make continued, sustained efforts if these numbers are to change. The problem of sexual assault and harassment among young people did not begin with colleges and universities and will not end with us either. Still, our missions of shared learning and research are uniquely suited to develop creative strategies, and to call on all members of our community -- including our own students -- to do what it takes so that all can participate fully in our nation's higher education institutions.