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Molly Burns
CAS138H
Dr. Freymiller
April 6, 2017

Sexual Assault Awareness and Prevention in Schools

Sexual assault is rampant in schools across the country, and it can happen to any student,

regardless of race, gender, or sexuality. Due to the frequency in which we hear about sexual

assault on college campuses, it may be easy to think it only happens in college. In fact, the issues

begin much earlier. Under Title IX, schools are required to have anti-harassment and anti-assault

policies in place. Typically, school staffs and administrations claim to take sexual assault very

seriously and have knowledge of these policies, yet many remain unprepared to deal with real-

life incidents. Because of this, school districts often ignore or deny sexual harassment in their

schools (Crisis In Our Schools). Thus, by creating a culture that excuses inappropriate behavior

that seems inconsequential, these oversights lead to students who push the limits of lax sexual

harassment policies. 21% of middle school students say they have experienced unwanted sexual

touching. 4% of boys and 10% of girls in high school have been sexually assaulted (Brown).

Among undergraduate college students, 23.1% of female college students and 5.4% of male

college students are victims of rape or sexual assault. Due to these increasing numbers, It is

imperative that schools implement more sexual assault education programs to enlighten students

about the topic. These programs must include both an emphasis on awareness of the issue, as

well as behaviors and actions that will prevent it.

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The first step towards battling sexual assault is making students aware of commonly

unknown realities. Many believe that most sexual abusers are adults who are unknown to the

victim when actually, about 60% of abusers are someone the victim knows (NSOPW). My idea

of rape was someone snatching me up in an alley, a dark alley, not someone that I date, not

someone I trust said a young woman who survived sexual assault (Balingit). An assaulter can be

someone a young person trusts, which means it is important that they be aware of the signs.

Students must know that it is okay to say no to an uncomfortable situation.

Though this may be a difficult subject for them, young children should be aware of the

dangers as well. Since it is unlikely that they are even aware of what behavior is and is not

appropriate, they are especially vulnerable. There are even some college students who do not

understand appropriate sexual behavior. According to a survey by the Washington Post, by the

time high school students arrive on college campuses, many of them have conflicting ideas about

what constitutes sexual consent, and many of them never learned about it. While some parents

feel that raising this type of awareness is not the schools responsibility, many parents are in

favor of this type of education. One parent from Fairfax County, Virginia, Andrea Hummel, is in

favor of it. She says that she hopes girls will learn it is okay to say no, and that boys will learn to

listen (Balingit). Learning about the topic in a formal school setting can make the topic easier for

parents. Unlike most parents, the teachers will be trained on how to discuss the delicate topic.

This will provide well-informed prompts for discussion between the student and parent at home,

without parents having to wonder how to bring it up.

While many awareness programs for sexual assault do exist on college campuses, there is

a growing belief that education should begin sooner, so that it becomes second nature. Fairfax

County Public Schools in Virginia updated its family education curriculum to include lessons on
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sexual assault and consent. Elizabeth Payne, who oversees this, says that she believes health

educators have a role to play in addressing the problems of sexual assault (Balingit). Sexual

assault can be a difficult topic for many parents to address with their children, and the reality is

that many parents do not do so. The only way to ensure that young people will acquire this type

of awareness is if these programs are required by law in schools. Our education system is a state-

by-state system, which can make it difficult to centralize policies. However, some states have

taken steps in the right direction. For example, the Teach Safe Relationships Act introduced by

senators Claire McCaskill and Tim Kaine (VA), requires that all schools teaching sex education

must also teach students about sexual assault and relationship violence (The Need for Response

to). When students understand the facets of sexual assault such as consent, appropriate vs.

inappropriate behavior, and healthy vs. unhealthy relationships, they may feel less vulnerable to

the dangers.

While important and beneficial, awareness programs only cover one side of the issue.

They acknowledge the reality that sexual assault and rape happen, and alert students of the

worrisome truths. Prevention programs are an essential addition to these programs. Their goal is

to decrease the number of people who perpetrate sexual violence, as well as the number of

victims. They strive to reduce risk factors and cover sexual assault at every level. All students,

male and female, must learn about mutual respect and comfort in sexual situations. While most

sexual desires and relationships come later in life, the basic ideas can be taught at a young age.

If colleges are a hunting ground, as theyve been called, for sexual predators, advocates say that

high schools are the breeding ground, says Tovia Smith, an NPR correspondent who has done

extensive reporting on sexual abuse (Smith).

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According to the CDC Injury Center, three existing prevention programs have proven to

be effective. These programs are Safe Dates, Shifting Boundaries, and RealConsent. Safe Dates

is a program intended for 8th and 9th grade students to prevent emotional, physical, and sexual

abuse in adolescent dating. The program focuses on changing gender-role norms, dating conflict-

resolution, and the ability to seek help through community resources. Research on this program

found a decrease in sexual dating violence that continued through at least a four-year follow-up

period (Violence Prevention). In 8th and 9th grade, students are at an age where they become

interested in dating. They are just beginning to understand a relationship dynamic, so the

information is extremely relevant. It makes sense that education about healthy relationships

would be particularly successful at that age.

Shifting Boundaries, another program, aims to reduce the prevalence of dating violence

and sexual harassment among adolescents. This program is intended for middle school students

to increase knowledge of sexual abuse and harassment, promote positive social attitudes and a

negative view of dating and sexual violence, and to promote nonviolent behaviors. The results

included reductions in sexual harassment, peer sexual violence perpetration and victimization,

and dating sexual violence within 6 months (Violence Prevention). Shifting Boundaries makes

middle school students aware of problems that many of them probably have not even thought

about, and teaches them the right attitudes right away. When young students learn the correct

attitudes and behaviors early on, they can carry them throughout their lives. Also, in middle

school, students are less likely to feel like they are too cool to listen to these lessons and think

it does not apply to them.

RealConsent is a program designed for college men to reduce sexually violent behavior

towards women. This web-based program does this by increasing prosocial intervention
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behaviors, correcting misconceptions about sex and rape, changing harmful attitudes, increasing

knowledge of what constitutes consent, and affecting male gender roles. The program was

effective in decreasing sexual violence perpetration as well as improving positive bystander

behavior behaviors (Violence Prevention). Bystander intervention education is a valuable part of

sexual assault prevention, especially for college-age students. Many assaults occur at parties

where alcohol is involved. Peer pressure to have sex and alcohol-related sexual coercion are

proven contributing factors to sexual assault (Sexual Assault Prevention). Therefore, programs

must aim to change the attitudes of not only potential perpetrators but their peers as well.

Alcohol does not have to lead to sexually violent behavior. Success of these programs should

serve as eye-openers for schools around the country who have not implemented such policies.

Schools can take factors from each of these programs and tailor them to specific ages and

communities.

Awareness and prevention is cannot begin at the college level. By the time students arrive

in college, most of them have fully-formed attitudes about sexual situations, whether they are

correct or not. Dangerous attitudes about sex can begin as early as kindergarten, where boys are

instinctively excused for any behavior with the commonly used boys will be boys. Without the

proper education, these dismissive attitudes are cultivated and reinforced. Too often, harmful

attitudes and behaviors surrounding sexual violence are swept under the rug by school

administrations. Schools cannot be expected to teach students about sex, but ignore sexual

assault and rape as a part of the curriculum. By neglecting to provide this education, schools do

not fulfill their duty to students. The whole point of getting an education is to prepare you for the

real world. Educators would not be comfortable sending students into the world without teaching

them how to do simple addition, so why are so many schools perfectly comfortable with sending
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students off without proper knowledge regarding healthy sexual situations? This knowledge is

just as applicable and practical, if not more so, as any other grade school lesson.
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Works Cited

Balingit, Moriah. "In the Fight against Sexual Assault, This School District Is Teaching about

Consent." The Washington Post. WP Company, 21 June 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Brown, Emma. "Sexual Violence Isn't Just a College Problem. It Happens in K-12 Schools, Too."

The Washington Post. WP Company, 17 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

"Crisis In Our Schools." Stop Sexual Assault in Schools. N.p., 13 Feb. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

"The Need for Response to Sexual Assault in Middle and High School." Break the Cycle. N.p.,

22 Apr. 2015. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Nsopw. "United States Department of Justice National Sex Offender Public Website." Facts and

Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

"Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center." Understanding the Perpetrator | Sexual

Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

Smith, Tovia. "To Prevent Sexual Assault, Schools And Parents Start Lessons Early." NPR. NPR,

09 Aug. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

"Violence Prevention." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, 07 June 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

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