Pop culture depictions of sexual assault might show a stranger behind the attack – but at least on university campus, that’s rarely the case, a new study says.
The study, which was conducted by University of Guelph and University of Windsor researchers and appears in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that 78 per cent of on-campus sexual assaults are perpetrated by somebody known to the victim.
Paula Barata, one of the researchers on the study, says that while students may be prepared to defend themselves against sexual assault, they typically imagine their target as a stranger.
“They may never imagine themselves doing that to their partner, an acquaintance, their roommate’s boyfriend,” she said.
”They need to be prepared to use that kind of force on someone that they know.”
That unpreparedness is what led the researchers to develop a ‘resistance training’ program, which leaves students psychologically, verbally and physically prepared to fend off a sexual assault – no matter who is perpetrating it.
“It’s about overcoming those emotional barriers and then actually practicing that,” Barata said.
Researchers say the use of resistance training reduced sexual assaults on their subjects by 46 per cent, with attempted sexual assaults were lessened by 63 per cent.
According to Barata, those numbers mean that if 22 students underwent resistance training, one sexual assault would be prevented – statistically speaking.
“Women are socialized to be nice. There are situations when they can’t be nice, because they may need to protect themselves,” she said.
First-year students were found to be the most likely targets for sexual assault.
“These young women are often away from home for the first time. They are finding themselves in all sorts of new social situations,” researcher Ian Newby-Clark said.
For their study, the researchers either trained or gave brochures to 893 female Canadian students.
One of them was Windsor’s Sarah Oszter, who said the self-defence component of the training was what she considered its greatest asset.
“Whether it’s a woman or a man, I think somebody should always step in if somebody looks like they’re in danger,” she said.
In general terms, the administrators of the study recommend that students “trust their instincts” when confronted with a potential sexual assault situation.
“If something feels off to them, that’s probably a good time to leave,” Newby-Clark said.
Over a four-year period at university, the chance of a woman being sexually assaulted is between 20 and 25 per cent, the study found.
With files from CTVNews.ca
