Most date rape situations go unreported, according to University officials, though the report of a sexual assault this past weekend may have raised student awareness.
An e-mail crime alert sent out Sunday notified the University community that a female student had been subject to a "sexual assault." The Providence Journal reported Wednesday morning that the student had been raped. This has not been confirmed to The Herald by the Providence Police Department.
According to Director of Health Education Frances Mantak '88, Health Services receives two or three reports of date rape each year. "But that doesn't tell us much about the prevalence (of date rape), unfortunately," Mantak said.
"In general, rape is the most underreported crime, and acquaintance rape is the most underreported of rapes," said Gail Cohee, director of the Sarah Doyle Women's Center. "We try to co-ordinate reports (with Health Services), but we all know it's underreported."
Given the difficulty of measuring date rape incidence within a community, Mantak relies largely on national statistics. These statistics, listed on the Health Services website, report that one in every 10 college women has been raped in her lifetime. For those women raped while in college, nine out of 10 offenders were not strangers to the victim.
The relative frequency of this so-called "acquaintance rape," said Mantak, helps explain why she suspects most date rape incidents at Brown are not reported. "Unfortunately there is a lot of stigma in reporting a date rape for people who have been assaulted by someone they know," Mantak said.
"The people who are more comfortable filing reports and the kind of situations we are (hearing about) in e-mails are ones where the person is a stereotypically true victim," Mantak said.
Such "stereotypical" situations typically involve "date rape drugs" such as GHB, Rohypnol, or Ketamine. Mantak suggested students protect themselves by covering any open drinks with their hand, not accepting drinks from strangers and avoiding punch bowls that could have been spiked with dangerous substances. But although last weekend's incident, when the victim may have been drugged, has created an opportunity to address date rape, Mantak said it involves "elements that are not all that common."
"One of the most common things in general, and one of the most common things that happens at Brown, is acquaintance rape," Mantak said.
"I think students come to Brown thinking they're going to be safe from crime, that crime happens somewhere else and we're in this bubble where bad things don't happen," Cohee said. "Date rape is a problem for everyone, everywhere, but particularly this age group."
"It's important to emphasize that we see it in all situations," Mantak said. "It's not just at off-campus bars from strangers. We've seen it at on-campus parties."
She suggested students make plans to leave parties together and look after their friends. "It can happen with people you know and it can happen with just alcohol," Mantak said. "In fact, alcohol is the most common date rape drug."
Students can find information about date rape situations, drugs, and the Brown policy on sexual misconduct through the Health Services Web site. Individuals who may feel symptoms of a date rape drug or want to report a crime should call Brown's Department of Public Safety at 863-4111. Although assaults must be reported within 72 hours in order for physical evidence to be collected, students can seek counseling through Psychological Services regardless of how recently an incident occurred.
Several support programs, including the Advocate Program run by Cohee at the Women's Center, are available to victims, but are often underutilized because students voice concerns through so many different channels, including the Office of Campus Life and peer counselors.
Health Services aims to educate students about sexual assault through table slips, posters and, this past fall, a mandatory session on date rape for all first-years during orientation, among other things.
"I think there are lots of gaps in knowledge," Cohee said. She added that she and others at the Women's Center are willing to give programs about sexual assault if students express interest.
"We can always do more," Mantak said. But she hesitated to differentiate date rape at Brown as a problem distinct from that of any other university.
"I don't think Brown is any different, better or worse, because we all live in the same world," said Mantak.
