The Tragic Reality of the ‘University Experience’
Isabella Miller, Investigative Journalist
October 20, 2021
This article contains information about sexual assault/violence.
Across Canada, September represents the opportunity for a fresh start with the return to university campuses and the start of fall term for both freshmen and upperclassmen alike. Unfortunately, it is becoming all too common for universal university experiences to turn into traumatic events due to the threat of sexual violence, tainting what are supposed to be ‘the best years of your life’. Sexual violence is not exclusive to university campuses, but there has been a dramatic increase in assaults and harassment to the extent that it is now seen as something to expect during one’s education. Campus-based sexual violence has become so pervasive that societies are collectively dismissing all other forms of sexual violence, essentially blaming ‘party culture’ and dismissing the true cause: the attacker’s need for power and control. Globally, 763 million women (one in three) have reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime, not even including instances of sexual harassment. To further explore these issues, The Observer’s Investigative Journalism branch brings you an insight into the true extent to which sexual violence is present within the global community and the damage which comes when sexual violence is blamed on anything but the perpetrator.
Just weeks ago, dozens of students were sexually assaulted during Western University’s Orientation Week, many occurring due to a mass-drugging incident in one of their main residence buildings Medway-Sydenham hall. At least four sexual assaults were reported to London police the same night, separate from the attack in residence, with extensive investigations following resulting in reports. Speaking to news outlets such as Global News or City News, orientation week leaders detailed how even when they were attempting to help the incapacitated students in residence, other male students were actively groping them and prohibiting the leaders from accessing those in need. Western students later organized a walkout to protest against the lack of accountability from Western University, with over 3,000 students in attendance.
After hearing the news of what happened at Western, it was disheartening yet sobering how many Queen’s students’ first reaction was ‘this could have been on my campus’. In solidarity, students at Queen’s University held a walk-out on September 27th, with over 1,200 students rallying at Summerhill pleading for action. One Queen’s student and speaker at the rally, Rebecca Laskin, told Global News “there is a culture here of sexual violence, of binge drinking and harassment and it just all contributes to this atmosphere.”.
Things have not changed since then. Just this past weekend, during Queen’s unofficial homecoming, students hung sheet signs making jokes surrounding the sexual attacks at Western. One particular sign read “Western guys wish they were Pfizer so they can get inside her”. This concept of defamation is not new due to the long-term rivalry, but in light of recent events, it is even more evident how many people do not understand the impact sexual violence has. They are now under review through the Student Code of Conduct.
Queen’s students have reported that at least 30.8% of them have experienced some form of sexual assault and 71.4% experienced sexual harassment during their time on campus, with the majority of it being perpetrated by someone already known by the victim. Through the Campus Experience Survey circulated by the university, of the students who reported experiencing sexual violence 71% reported that they were taken advantage of while intoxicated/incapacitated.
Many students reported that these assaults occurred in off-campus residences, which aligns with the excessive partying intrinsic to many Canadian university experiences. Assault through opportunity is increasing; something as simple as going to a party or bar can often involve some form of sexual intimidation through unwanted attention or cat-calling. It is never out of the realm of possibility that an innocent night out can turn into the worst-case scenario. A survivor of sexual violence spoke during the rally at Summerhill, detailing her experience of being taken advantage of at a party by a well-known older student who had previously been her Frosh week leader, and the struggle of having her peers believe her story as it occurred when she was intoxicated.
The media and law enforcement are fixated on trying to prove that the attacker is less at fault because the victim chose to act as any other university student would. Recently, an Instagram account mimicking the style of @StolenBySmith, @ConsentAtQueens has surfaced with over 60 anonymous experiences of sexual violence committed at our campus. The majority of these anonymous individuals cite that they truly wished to come forward and report these crimes but were faced with the questions no victim would want to answer: ‘What were you wearing?’, ‘How much did you have to drink?’, or even ‘Did you really even say no?’. A former student wrote a first-person column for CBC News chronicling her months-long battle with Kingston law enforcement while trying to report her sexual assault, having to relive her assault over and over again without a report even being filed. “I asked the detective what my chances of a conviction were. She said none… All of the reasons she provided laid the blame at my feet. I had failed to be the "perfect rape victim," and so I had no chances of securing a conviction.”, Meghan Simard wrote in her CBC article.
Is party culture really as much to blame as current media sources claim? The arguments that the victim should have been more aware of their intoxication, the victim should have worn less revealing clothing, or that the victim should have stood up for themselves never acknowledge the source of sexual violence: the perpetrators who believe they are entitled to another’s body. It is not party culture, nor the victim, but instead the incessant need for power and control over another which can be to blame.
Blaming this issue solely on party culture or university culture trivializes the extent to which sexual assault and harassment are permitted within day-to-day interactions, and by refusing to acknowledge a greater societal issue there is no course of action to change this power imbalance. 97% of women in the UK (aged 18-24) have reported experiencing sexual violence in their lifetime. This conversation in the UK was started surrounding sexual violence after the abduction, rape, and murder of Sarah Everard in March of 2021 by a police officer, prompting thousands of women to share their experiences with sexual violence.
Nusrat Jahan Rafi was murdered by her community after reporting her headmaster for abusing her at her school. After reporting the crime, multiple protests broke out advocating for his innocence, and just five days later she was lured to the roof of her school where she was burned alive after refusing to rescind the allegations. In Bangladesh, 54% of women have experienced sexual assault by an intimate partner, while in Myanmar, rape is the second most reported crime. Social stigmas surrounding sexual violence are extreme to the extent that victims are harassed and killed for coming forward while their attackers do not suffer an ounce of punishment, especially when committed by somebody they trusted.
Reports from the Central African Republic, Chad, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo all state that in times of conflict, rape and other forms of sexual violence is the most prevalent military strategy. Sexual violence is the utmost violation one can endure, but is directly used to break down an innocent community and force them to surrender to political demands. These statistics prove how embedded rape culture is, not just within campus party culture but our overall global society, and how deeply it affects every community and country.
Maintaining the idea that it is party culture or campus culture to blame allows for a semi-logical explanation for completely illogical acts. Nobody wants to admit that their friends, family members, housemates, teammates, or classmates could be capable of committing sexual violence; therefore, placing the blame on the invisible force of ‘party culture’ allows one to sleep easier at night. It is clear through studying sexual violence in other countries that combatting attacks has been a monumental, lifelong struggle with no resolution in sight. Nothing forces an abuser to abuse, and any other excuse ignores the deeply rooted issues which allow for the perpetuation of sexual violence and the number of victims to continue to rise.
The tragic reality of the ‘university experience’ is that this experience is shared by all too many.