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This coming week is Sexual Assault Awareness Week. Some people are probably wondering about the purpose of this. Who doesn't think sexual assault is bad? What's the point of cramming more of this down our throats?

The problem with this attitude is that while Rice students are capable of making responsible decisions, they simply don't have all the facts available to them. I certainly did not expect to learn the statistics I was taught when I joined Students Organized Against Rape three years ago. Most people envision sexual assault as something that takes place in poorly lit parking lots at 3 a.m. This image is reinforced by police bulletins that report only stranger rapes, creating the impression that this is the most common form of sexual assault on campus.

In fact, you are five times more likely to be raped by someone you know than by a stranger. One in six women will be sexually assaulted during their time at college.

People are skeptical of national statistics applied to Rice. We all know Rice is different from other schools, so we resist being preached to for the ills of some national trend. Here are the facts. From mid-October to the end of classes last semester, three acquaintance rapes were reported, according to the Campus Police and Student Affairs. All of these assaults were between two Rice students and involved the use of alcohol. Keep in mind that these are only the reported incidents of sexual assault. The actual number of assaults tends to be about 10 to 20 times the number of reported assaults. Forty percent of assault survivors never tell anyone of their experience. And we are talking about only one half of one semester.

Next week we will be presenting a recording of the experience of an actual Rice student who was raped. The recording powerfully emphasizes the fact that this is very much an issue that occurs at Rice. We invite anyone who is interested to attend. We will first play the tape March 18 at 8:45 p.m. in Sammy's PDR. If you are unable to make that presentation, we hope to present once at each college with college-specific facilitators to lead the discussion and provide information. The first of these will be at Sid Richardson College.

Sexual Assault Awareness Week exists to provide the Rice community with a resource to learn about and discuss sexual assault. It is designed to open up a dialogue about the serious issue of sexual communication. If you have any further questions, feel free to contact one of the SOAR officers or stop by the Health Education Office.

Ravi Sohal

Coordinator SOAR SRC '98

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the March 14, 1997 issue.