The recent notifications from University Police have the UF campus on high alert. The terrifying news of four attempted sexual assaults in the nighttime hours have left UF students afraid of walking home alone. But these attacks are isolating one group of people in particular: women.
It is all too easy to chalk up these recent incidents to natural occurrence. Some argue that women are supposed to know better than to walk alone at night because they are sexual targets. However, these individuals miss the central point of this issue.
The conversation we need to be having is about why women are seen as sexual targets and sometimes unable to associate freely in public simply because of their gender.
In a recent email sent out over the UF listserv, UPD Chief Linda Stump wrote that her message served “to remind you of the importance of looking out for your own safety and that of others.” Because the recent attacks have specifically targeted women, it gives the impression that her message is telling female students to take better care of themselves when they are out.
Society too often blames the victims in cases of rape and sexual assault. We may ask: What were you doing walking home without a chaperone?
In modern America, there is seemingly an entire rulebook of precautions that women must follow before they leave their homes.
Don’t go out at night. If you have to go out at night, take a friend. Don’t wear clothes that might provoke a man. Pay extra attention to your surroundings — whether that means staying sober or not talking on the phone while walking down the street for fear of being attacked.
Yes, there are precautions women can and should take to better ensure their safety. However, none of these precautions confront the real issue at hand here, which is men attacking women.
When are we going to start trying to prevent this predatory action in men so that women may exist freely without constantly being put at risk?
The issue of sexual assault on college campuses garnered attention last year after tales of several sexual assault cases that were poorly handled by university officials made national headlines. Earlier this year, President Barack Obama established a special task force to protect students after a study determined that 1 in 5 female college students is sexually assaulted at school.
These new developments on the issue of sexual assault come after UF experienced an alarming trend itself, according to crime statistics from UPD — one forcible sex offense in 2008, five in 2009 and 11 in 2010. Not all offenses are reported, so there could have very well been more rapes and sexual assaults in those years. Although UPD has not released statistics for the past three years, UF has seen more reported sexual assaults in this past week than in 2008 alone.
There is no simple solution to ending acts of sexual violence against women, but simply telling women to be more careful and take extra precautions is not nearly enough.
As a start, more exposure and education on the issue of sexual violence could make a significant positive difference. Every Fall, freshman students have to complete a short module on alcohol safety. An accompanying module on appropriate sexual behavior, including information about consent and sexual assault, would go a long way toward combatting these important issues.
Ending violence against women at UF and in America is not the responsibility of women alone. We should all work toward a future where young women are sent off to school with shower shoes and printer ink as going-away gifts and not pink, pocket-sized bottles of pepper spray.
TehQuin Forbes is a UF sociology junior. His columns appear on Mondays.
[A version of this story ran on page 6 on 9/8/2014 under the headline "Stop blaming women for sexual assault"]
