"Rape? That would never happen to me." That phrase is heard and said by people everywhere: television shows, in movies, at the dinner table, at clubs or bars, in a conversation between two people walking on the streets, in the classroom. In reality, according to National Rape Statistics, one in four college women have been, are, or will be, victims of sexual violence or rape.

If the statistics apply to Brandeis, then approximately 412 over the University's 1,600 undergraduate women have been, or will, fall victim to sexual assault or rape.

"At Brandeis, in Rights and Responsibilities, we define what we believe is sexual misconduct ... in the criminal system, many of the behaviors we see as sexual misconduct would equate with indecent assault and battery, to rape ... to everything in between," Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett said.

On one hand, these statistics might appear innacurate because not all sexual assault victims that report the fact that they have been raped. Conversely, national statistics depict that the number of females college students who report their incident of sexual violence has been increasing.

Administrators who work with rape issues or are knowledgeable about them said they believe that education is the reason why female victims are stepping up and reporting their sexual assaults. College professors are educating their students about violence in the classrooms. Also, students are educated outside the classrooms during first-year orientation programs, through select lectures or speakers, through student-run clubs or organizations that strive to achieve their goals of women feeling safe on college campuses, and to prevent women from becoming victims of rape.

Professor Jacob Cohen (AMST), teaches a course called "Violence in America" (AMST 175a), where students are educated about how rape is an example of violence present in America.

In this course, he gives lectures about several instances in which violence was prevalent in American history. Specifically, he delivers a few lectures on rape and his lectures on rape are based on two books, which the students are assigned to read. The books are "Real Rape" by Susan Estrich and "Only Words" by Catherine McKinnon.

In "Real Rape," Estrich argues that a behavior that was not called rape in the past is now considered rape. She also makes a clear distinction between aggravated rape and simple rape. She says that aggravated rape is the type of sexual assault where the classic "stranger behind the bushes" uses violence to hurt a woman. It is the traditional definition of rape and is considered carnal (intercourse) by force of violence. Then, she says that simple rape is when someone is a victim to rape, and that victim knows her assailant.

In "Only Words," McKinnon argues that hard-core pornography is violence. She says that porn is not only words, but rather, it is an act of violence. Words, in the context of history, become more than only words. These words become acts of rape. She also says that certain images, such as pornographic movies, instigate behavior, and that this instigation becomes rape.

From Cohen's knowledge on Violence in America and from giving lectures on "Real Rape" and "Only Words," Cohen explains why there might be an increase in the number of female college students that reported their rape. "The question is whether the increase in the number of reports indicates that there has been an increase in the number of rapes," Cohen said.

Professor Deirdre Hunter (WMNS), also educates Brandeis students about rape. She gives a course called "Prevention of Violence Against Women and Children," (WMNS92a) and in it, she talks about the cultural and social structure of interpersonal violence, why it occurs in domestic, intimate and family relationships and how individuals and communities can intervene to prevent it.

In Hunter's experience from being an educator on rape, she questions if the number of victims reporting assaults is on the rise. "I don't know why the number of reports would be going up," she said. But, she said she feels that if the increase continues in the number of victims who report their sexual assaults, then, attention to the issues could advance positive changes in the future.

Hunter also said codes of conduct vary among colleges, which makes it difficult to compile data across colleges to determine if the number of rapes or number of victims reporting their rape is actually increasing. These varying codes of conduct among colleges and universities signify, that the way one college interprets rape can be different than a way that another college interprets rape. Therefore, she said that what one institution considers rape, another college may not. "We all know different colleges take reports of dating violence differently," she said.

"Different definitions of assaults can fluctuate," Hunter added. She said she feels if colleges or universities do not keep accurate data on rapes, then, she said it would be unclear for researchers to find out whether or not rapes or sexual assaults take place on individual college campuses.

"Generally, when colleges keep data, then there is also some activity on the campus to educate about and prevent violence and rapes," Hunter continued.
Hunter also added that another possible reason why the number of reports of college women being raped has increased is because college women are more at risk than other groups for being sexually assaulted. "College women are statistically at the highest risk for sexual assault," she said. Specifically, she said offenders have easy access to college women, especially since many college campuses are close-knit and because a college environment fosters a close social interaction between people.

"In those situations (on college campuses, where men and women are near each other), offenders have more access, and often because of abuse of alcohol, drugs, less inhibition," she said.

Hunter said her knowledge of rape is not only shared in the classroom. She is vice president of the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center (BARCC), one of the oldest rape crises centers in the United States. It was first started as a grassroots, activist endeavor. She said she feels BARCC takes a strong initiative in educating students outside the classroom about rape.

Jeannette Reichmuth, director of education at BARCC, has worked with Brandeis several times throughout the academic year, specifically with CORE (Committee on Rape Education) and with the Vagina Club. With CORE, she trained the students of what to do in situations where they were being raped and gave presentations, which centered on rape trauma syndrome, acquaintance rape, rape drugs, and the difference between rape myths and rape facts.

Bennett, also has advised CORE. Working as an advisor to CORE, and overseeing the Brandeis Rape Crisis hotline, she said Brandeis has a broader definition of rape than other colleges or universities. "We have a broader definition ... it's a private community to which people are admitted because of merit ... it's a selective community and because of that, we require people's conduct to be above reproach," she said.

Reichmuth, also said she agrees education is why women are no longer afraid to speak out if they are raped. "The increase in reporting is happening because of education," she said.

Reichmuth, along with other members on the education committee at BARCC, gave presentations to these Brandeis students about a victim's options are after he or she is assaulted. "We make sure we talk about people's options after they've been assaulted," she said. She specified a victim has four avenues: 1) medical options 2) civil/criminal options- where victims can file rape charges through their local police department, 3) university options, where victims can be educated on what to do in a situation in which they were raped, victims can request to change their housing on campus, and 4) counseling resources where victims can decide to get counseling on or off-campus.

However, Reichmuth said she feels courses or campus groups are not simply enough of an education to eliminate rape. "The education needs to be coming in every level to the students," she said. Even though she said she supports students who talking a step to raise awareness about rape, she said she feels administration has a responsibility as well to educate students.

Now, the question lies of where the issues surrounding rape are going are heading.

"Behaviors which don't rise to a criminal standard can be behaviors which will exclude people from being a member of our community," Bennett said.

Reichmuth said she positive about the future of women reporting sexual assault incidents. "There will be an increase in women reporting . I hope that the increase continues to happen," she said.

"Widely urged to report such transgressions, more women are alleging rapes or recalling them. That doesn't mean that rape is not a serious problem, only that it may not be more of a problem than it was in the past," Cohen said.

"Reaching out for help is a huge step for them (the victims). The more survivors come forward, the more likely the next rape victim will feel safe coming forward," Reichmuth said.