Sex offense numbers can obscureIvy reality

The number of reported forcible sex offenses at Penn decreased by more than 50 percent from 2002 to 2003.

But the numbers don't tell the whole story.

While low crime statistics may seem like a good thing, administrators at colleges across the country often worry about the reasons behind the statistics. Notoriously underreported and stigmatized, rape is known to affect college-age students in higher numbers than other groups.

Forcible sexual assaults were brought to the forefront at Penn early last Friday morning, when a female Penn student reported an incident near 40th and Pine streets.

Philadelphia Police said the 18-year-old woman was sexually assaulted in the alley behind Allegro Pizza around 2:45 a.m. while she was returning from a party. The Special Victims Unit is investigating the incident and has said the woman may have known the alleged attacker.

"For college students, there are risk factors that are associated with acquaintance rape that are unique," said Director of Penn's Office of Health Education Susan Villari, "They call the first six weeks of school for first-year students 'the red zone,'" because it is such a high-risk period, she added.

Susan Marine, coordinator of Sexual Assault Prevention Services at Harvard University, explained some of the risk factors for undergraduates.

"Colleges happen to be a place where one particular risk factor is really, really amplified, and that's alcohol," Marine said.

Villari agreed, adding that students are unfamiliar with their surroundings and peers as they enter college.

Across the Ivy League, administrators have striven to increase awareness to prevent acquaintance rape and encourage dialogue so that victims of sexual assault can seek help.

Crime statistics for all the Ivies -- including Penn -- indicate that sexual assault victims rarely come forward for help.

"About 85 to 90 percent of victims never report an offense to an authority of any kind," Marine said. "It's difficult for people to talk about -- it's really important for people to understand that sexual assault is a community issue."

Initiatives at Cornell University resemble those at other schools.

"A large number of on-campus groups ... deal with advocacy ... sexual assault and also counseling," said Simeon Ross, director of the Cornell University Press Office. "One of the large services that the University provides is the Cornell Victims Advocacy Program" which provides personal support for students.

In addition, Cornell's freshman orientation has dedicated programs to discuss sexual assault and sexual health. Similar programs are in place at Harvard.

"One thing that we do well at Harvard is that we provide multiple entry points for students that they can access to get help," Marine said. All programs are designed to allow students "to be open about ... talking about stereotypes and myths that exist in our culture about sexual violence."

In addition to working with groups like Penn's Students Together Against Acquaintance Rape, the United States Department of Justice awarded Penn a grant to develop a consortium with area colleges that will examine college policies designed to combat sexual assaults, stalking and other forms of domestic violence.

"Any time there is a conversation or training around these issues or better efforts to coordinate a response -- an institutional response -- it's good for everyone," Villari said.

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