UNCW discusses sexual assault on college campuses during awareness month

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — April marks Sexual Assault Awareness Month and, according to the CDC, more than half of all women and almost one in three men have experienced sexual violence involving physical contact.

Chris Bertram, assistant campus police chief at UNCW, says they receive around 12 reports of sexual assault per year. However, he says this number doesn’t necessarily reflect the true number of assaults since they statically go largely unreported.

“I want them to know that they can call us, that their safety is our primary concern,” Bertram said. “And if they find themselves in a situation where something like that has happened, they’re not alone, they don’t have to face it by themselves.”

In 2021, UNCW saw an unusually large number of assaults with 21 reported on campus and only 12 of those assaults reported to the police. Bertram explains this doesn’t necessarily mean more assaults were happening, but more people felt comfortable reporting them. In 2022, six assaults were reported to police. So far this year, two incidents have been reported. Bertram says he does not yet have the data for the total reported on campus last year.

The reason not all assaults are reported to campus police is that students can report assaults confidentially to sources outside the police department, like the Collaboration for Assault Response and Education (CARE).

To help make victims of assault more comfortable coming forward, Bertram says there are a number of things the department does to make the process as painless as possible. If a person wants to report an assault but does not feel comfortable coming to the police station, officers can meet them in a place that works better for them.

Additionally, if a victim does not want to pursue criminal charges but would rather see their report resolved on a campus level, Bertram says they will honor that. However, if the department has received multiple reports of a suspect being involved in multiple assaults, they would go forward with criminal charges to protect the safety of the campus at large. Fortunately, that has never happened.

“In that situation, we have to look at the greater safety for the entire campus community. If the person has been involved in two, there’s nothing to say there won’t be a third or a fourth,” Bertram said.

While women more commonly experience sexual assault, men can become victims as well.

“Men might report the sexual assault faster if they were assaulted by another man than if they were assaulted by a woman because they’re probably thinking the first thing they’re going to say is, ‘Well how did that happen?’ Well, it happens. Anyone regardless of gender, who is assaulted should report it because somebody has violated their person,” Bertram said.

In all cases, consent is required and should never be implied.

“A person has to say, yes I want to do this with you, not just not say no,” Bertram said. “Frankly, if you’re both impaired, it’s probably better to wait.”

According to UNCW CARE Director Jen August, violence and force are not as common as some people may believe when it comes to sexual assault.

“A lot of times we’re not seeing it as physical violence, we’re not seeing force, we’re seeing a lot of pressure, manipulation, coercion. Those are the situations more frequently,” August said.

While “stranger-rape” is a common perception, August says more commonly victims know the person assaulting them. In the community at large, she says about 85 percent of the time people know the suspect. On campus, that number climbs to around 90 percent.

“It makes it harder to report when they’ve been sexually assaulted by somebody that they’ve known and it also makes it harder for them to identify that that’s what has happened to them. And it increases the likelihood that they’re going to blame themselves for what happened,” August said.

However, August says victims are never at fault and they don’t have to face what’s happened to them alone. Whether a victim needs legal, mental, or other support, it is available to them on campus.