The Chronicle

Issue date: 3/29/07 Section: Columns
Last update: 3/29/07 at 9:33 AM EST

As middle-aged men who were of college age during the early stages of the sexual revolution, we know the changes that have occurred in American society, both in terms of opportunities for and the successes of women. Nonetheless, as women have seized their rightful role in our society, some disturbing issues remain. Nowhere perhaps is this more dramatic than in the inability of our society to make an appreciable dent in the degree to which women, and especially young women, continue to be subjected to sexual abuse and assault.

Statistics about sexual assault should alarm all of us, and sexual assault counselors report that these statistics are conservative. According to the Dating Violence Resources Center in Washington, D.C., 32 percent of college women experience some form of sexual assault or dating violence, ranging from stalking to rape. In any one year, it is estimated that 5 percent of college women will experience a rape or an attempted rape. If we extrapolate these numbers to Duke, some 967 students have experienced dating violence, and more than 150 undergraduate women are survivors of sexual assault. No one can be comfortable with this information. But numbers tell only part of the story.

Sexual violence occurs within a larger context marked by ambiguity about what actually constitutes dating violence. Admittedly, in the context of the hook-up culture, sexual assault can be difficult to discuss. Young women we have talked with tell us that the hookup culture often muddles these distinctions. So have young men.

Thanks to student efforts, we've made some strides in diminishing the stigma associated with sexual assault. Publications like Saturday Night: Untold Stories of Sexual Assault have helped educate our campus about the experience of those who survive sexual and dating violence. They have helped open conversations about informed consent and exposed the fear of sexual violence that some women feel on campus. Events like "Take Back the Night" have enabled us to understand the reality of the survivor and helped educate us not to blame the victim. But when we as a community talk about sexual assault, we still talk about it as if it is a "women's issue." That's where we're getting it wrong.

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