Prof raises awareness about sexual assault
By Hannah Larking
News Editor
May 14, 2008
May is sexual assault month across Canada and the University of Windsor is taking advantage of the opportunity to raise awareness.
Dr. Charlene Senn is a professor of Psychology and Women’s Studies with areas of expertise in sexual assault and violence against women. Over the years, her research has proven that sexual assault on campus at Windsor is just as high as any other. In the broad definition, 8-18 per cent of women are sexually assaulted within a three-month period.
“In Canada, there is no rape law. [It has not been there] since 1985. Instead, there is sexual assault, which includes any form of non-consensual sexual touching, from kissing or grabbing … all the way to what we would normally call rape [or intercourse],” explained Senn.
For an act to be non-consensual, a level of force is involved. The degree of coercion employed varies from case to case. “For example, if there were weapons involved, and also, abuse of authority is considered to be counter to consent. If the [victim] is unconscious, or intoxicated or sleeping, obviously then no consent can be given, and those [circumstances] are covered in the law,” said Senn.
Many people may not be aware of the how much of an umbrella term sexual assault is. “In general conversation, I think that many things that are legally sexual assault are not labeled as such by people in the population,” said Senn, “Most people still use the term rape to indicate intercourse, and don’t necessarily understand that the sexual assault law actually covers a lot more than that.”
According to Senn, there have been statistics gathered by Campus Community Police, but the numbers they have do not give a true reflection of how many women are victimized. “You can expect [the reports gathered by Campus Community Police] to be low, because very few women actually report sexual assault to authorities, and most of the ones that are reported are likely to be stranger sexual assaults, and those are the least common kinds of sexual assault,” explained Senn.
The most common kind of sexual assault on campus, is a sexual assault perpetrated by a male acquaintance, usually in the context of a party, on a date, or even just studying, and these are the cases that are least likely to be reported.
“A woman has the option to either report to Campus Community Police or to the City Police, because it is a criminal act. Many women go to Health Services, not wanting to report officially, but what they want is the plan B or the morning after pill. Many women are concerned about infections, because men who sexually assault are not likely to wear a condom,” Senn said.
In addition to this, if a woman wants to gather evidence but is not sure whether they want to prosecute or not, they go to the sexual assault treatment centre at Windsor-Regional Hospital and collect a rape kit and choose to press charges later.
While many women choose not to report their sexual assault cases to an authority, 70 per cent of women report to their friends and family, said Senn. This mean friends and family have a responsibility to play in supporting the woman and assuring her that what happened is not her fault.
For more information or advice, contact Health Services at (519) 973-7002 or www.uwindsor.ca/health.
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