One out of four: that’s how many college women are victims of date rape according to a study on sexual assault and rape by Ms. magazine.  It’s a staggering statistic, a figure that’s so high it’s downright scary.  

Chances are that you know someone – a friend, sister, co-worker – who has been a victim of date rape.  In fact, a study conducted by Central Michigan University found that 85 percent of rapes on college campuses are date rapes.  

Joanna Gallagher is a sexual assault interventionist/investigator who works in the Office of Public Safety here at Villanova.  A nine-year veteran, she handles all cases of sexual assault on campus.  Gallagher sees the source of the problem to be “a lack of communication.”

“When you’re talking date rape, the communication on boundaries isn’t being communicated,” she states.  “Half the time when you’re dealing with sexual assault, especially acquaintance rape (i.e. date rape), ‘no’ is never said.”

 She is quick to add that even though the actual word “no” is not said, there are “other physical things that [the victims] are doing and saying that mean ‘no.'”

She is clearly not one of those people who buys into such arguments that if a woman dresses provocatively or acts in a certain way than she is “asking for it” or “deserves what she gets.”  “It shouldn’t matter which way you dress … it doesn’t mean you should be sexually assaulted,” Gallagher says.  She is a true believer in “no means no.”  

However, according to Gallagher, a good percentage of the time, the perpetrators do not even realize what has happened because they were under the influence of alcohol. She still believes that “they should be held liable … it’s still a crime.”

About the date rape situation here at Villanova, she says, “There’s no way of saying it doesn’t happen here.  It does.”  She adds that the national statistics hold true for just about any place, including Villanova.  

What is Villanova doing to prevent date rape?  According to Gallagher, the approach is two-fold: one part education and one part physical presence of public safety personnel.  

Approximately 52 public safety officials patrol campus.  Officers sit in the residence halls at night and there are also the shuttle and escort services.  

In addition, a deal has recently been struck with the local cab company so the cab service now accepts the Wildcard.  This deal was reached, Gallagher says, “so that the students don’t feel like they don’t have money and can’t come back to campus.”  

Education is also being used to combat the problem. Gallagher runs many different kinds of sexual assault presentations on campus for all the residence halls, for sororities and for faculty and staff.  One of the programs is called Rape Aggression Defense.  The program is a 12-hour course in rape defense techniques in which women learn how to avoid and handle different rape and date rape situations.  They are taught how to physically defend themselves against an attack and undergo a simulated attack.  The class is free and is open to female students, faculty and staff.  Gallagher believes the course helps women learn how to ward off a potential rape or date rape situation and allows prior victims to come forward.

“Sometimes people come forward and say, ‘This happened to me when I was a freshman,’ or ‘This happened to me when I was a sophomore,'” she says.

On the subject of prevention, Gallagher outlines a couple of key ways to be safe.  First, she advocates using the buddy system. “Always go somewhere with a friend and make sure you leave with that friend,” she says.  

Once again she stresses the need to be clear in communication. To women she says, “You have to be direct and to the point because someone else’s perception of the situation may be different than yours.” 

She also points out how important it is to be careful about alcohol and drug consumption.  A study conducted by Facts on Tap found that 90 percent of all campus rapes occur when either the assailant or the victim has used alcohol.  She adds that with all the different date rape drugs available today – Rohypnol, GHB and MDMA are among them – women have to be wary of what they drink and who gives it to them.  The use of date rape drugs on college campuses is very prevalent.

However, Gallagher admits that “We have not personally seen or had anyone tested that represented date rape drugs here on our campus.” 

When prevention fails and a woman becomes the victim of a date rape, actions against the perpetrator can be taken. Gallagher advises women who are victims to contact the campus authorities or the local authorities and not to take a shower or wash their clothes.

On average, two to five date rapes are reported at Villanova each year. Gallagher estimates that in reality there could be about 200 throughout a school year, but most are not reported.  

The statistics on women who do not report their victimizations are staggering.  A study by Central Michigan University shows that only 1 percent of women assaulted will report it to the police if victimized by a date or acquaintance and only 5 percent of college women who are raped report it to the police.  Furthermore, 42 percent of college women who are raped do not tell anyone about the assault.  Gallagher points out that many women think to themselves, “I don’t want my friends to know.  I don’t want people harassing me.  I don’t want to be stigmatized,” and never report the attack.

At Villanova, if a person feels that he or she is the victim of an assault, he or she must first make a formal complaint about the event.  Then the suspect is notified and has to come in and explain his or her side of the story.  The case is then taken to the Judicial Affairs Office where both people tell their sides of the story.  

If the suspect wants to challenge the accusation, he or she can request a hearing, before a board comprised of a student, staff member, faculty member, Judicial Affairs officer, the suspect and victim.  After all the information considered and all the testimony is heard, a ruling is made as to the guilt of the accused.  

If, in the case of a date rape accusation, the suspect is found guilty of sexual assault, he or she can face a range of punishments, the worst of which is expulsion from the university.

Despite all of the aforementioned efforts – the education, the prevention and the punishment – date rape is still a major problem on college campuses.