Ever since I began practicing medicine, I’ve always enjoyed well child exams. Children will
indeed say anything and provide the best comedy. In addition, I enjoy hearing what these bright little people want to be when they grow up and for my teenage patients I love hearing about their college choices and the rationale behind it. This time of the year across the nation teens are piling into their doctor’s offices getting their precollege physicals. However, I wonder how many of these young adults are also discussing serious collegiate issues such as sexual assault.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 1 in 5 women while in college are sexually assaulted. Only a small fraction of these abuses are ever reported. More than 90 percent of them go unreported.
Contributing to these startling statistics is of course alcohol use. It is reported that 4 out of 5college students drink alcohol and many of these students are also binge drinking. More than 97,000 students between the ages of 18 and 24 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape per the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
But even more concerning are the numbers of female students, 23 percent of them, who reported nonconsensual sexual contact of any kind in a report by CNN based on a survey by the Association of American Universities which included more than 150,000 students from 27universities.
For instance, I’m sure many of you remember the case involving Stanford student, Brock Turner, who was found guilty of sexually assaulting an inebriated, unconscious female student about a year ago. Two students who were passing by found Turner on top of the student behind some bushes with the unnamed student’s dress above her waist. Turner got up and ran but the students tackled him to the ground. Though Turner was convicted, the case drew outrage because Turner was only sentenced to 6 months.
So what are colleges doing to address these issues? In many states, it is no longer “no means no” but instead “yes means yes.” Consent is defined as an unambiguous yes and if a person is intoxicated they cannot give consent. Many universities are also requiring mandatory education on sexual assault prevention. And a host of schools have implemented bystander prevention programs such as the Green Dot. This program teaches participants strategies to help deescalate situations that lead to sexual assault, such as causing distractions so that the victim can get away.
Hopefully, we all realize now that curbing sexual violence on college campuses will be a joint effort of administration, students, healthcare providers, law enforcement, and parents. We must educate future collegians of their responsibilities. Males and females alike must now their roles of engagement. Each partner must be fully aware of the ramifications of sex with a partner under the influence.
No consent equals rape. “I thought she wanted it.” “Earlier in the day she said ok to sex.” “All I did was touch her.” These arguments are common, but are totally unacceptable!
Therefore, my advice to parents: have this conversation with your teens now before theylearn this information the hard way.
Your family doctor,
Denise Hooks Anderson, M.D.
Assistant Professor
SLUCare Family Medicine
yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com
