Co-written and edited with Lucy Jones , Brannon Mahaley and Morgan Miller
For our final project in our news reporting class, we agreed that it was important to talk about sexual assault, harassment and domestic violence. While exploring this topic, we have made some unbelievable discoveries and revelations about Western Carolina University’s campus and the lack of conversation about this problem. We have found that many people are not willing to discuss this topic due to the fact that it is a grey area, and many people are made uncomfortable by it. But by not talking about it, sexual assault and domestic violence will continue to happen. We spoke to victims and survivors, the police department, and a lawyer for WCU, all of whom have either experienced or have had to deal with sexual assault cases. In working on this project, we have created six stories, each exploring different angles. This is what we found.
Assaulting someone in a sexual manner can include anything from the “harmless” catcall to rape and attempted rape. According to the Department of Justice, sexual assault is any form of non-consensual sexual act proscribed by Federal, tribal, or State law, including when the victim lacks capacity to consent. Unfortunately, there is stigmatization surrounding the topic of sexual assault and domestic violence. As a result, it has made bringing awareness to WCU’s campus much more difficult.
According to police, under North Carolina law, the difference between ‘rape’ and ‘second-degree rape’ is found primarily in the circumstances of each individual case. According to the law, both acts require “unwilling vaginal penetration,” and both are felonies.
But as defined by Jessica, one of the survivors of domestic abuse on Western Carolina University’s campus, sexual assault is “attention that someone gives you that you don’t necessarily want, or manipulation when you don’t respond to some sort of sexual experience.” She gave the example of catcalling and unwanted street harassment. And while there are some people who take it as a compliment, the majority of the time, catcalling is unwanted attention that is placed upon a person based on how they look.
Survivor’s Stories
We spoke to three different survivors, each with something different to contribute to the discussion.
Brittany, for example, experienced sexual assault her freshman year at WCU and was cornered into an ultimatum. She reported her case but was never allowed to receive closure or justice. To read further into her story click here.
Jessica, on the other hand, experienced some detrimental setbacks when she was domestically violated in her relationship on campus. She did not know who to turn to or what resources existed on campus for her when she was taken advantage of. To read her story, click here.
Christina Lynn Parker has quite a different story. She was raped as a teenager and has since grown to overcome the rape and has used her experience to help others that have experienced similar instances on WCU’s campus. To read how she has helped many students deal with their own stories of violence, click here.
So what does this mean for students at WCU?
Many sexual assaults end up going unreported because students do not know where to turn to when it first happens. Often times, the cases that are reported to the proper authorities are not solved due to the lack of witnesses, the “he/she said” scenario or the shame of having to continue reliving the experience by telling more people.
For starters, there is a massive discrepancy between the number of cases that get reported versus the ones that remain unreported. In North Carolina alone, there are staggering statistics at various campuses across the state surrounding rape and sexual assault cases. The map below offers some insight on just a few of the major private and public universities in NC and their statistics.
According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives. To put that into a college perspective, one in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. Furthermore, more than 90 percent of victims on college campuses do not report their assault. As stated by the ‘DoSomething’ campaign, around 5 percent of sexual assaults on college campuses are reported, making sexual assault the most under-reported crime.
As far as resources go at WCU, the campus Police Department is the main resource for sexual assault victims and survivors in addition to the Counseling and Psychological Services and the Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) course/express program. If you are interested in the R.A.D. program click here.
At WCU, the University Police Department publicly discloses statistics and information through the Annual Fire Safety and Security Report that has guidelines over rules, regulations, policies, and resources for on and off campus on these incidents. This report also covers all of the reported cases dealing with sexual assault and domestic violence that occurred during a specific fiscal year.
All colleges and universities that receive federal funding are now required to report on annual security and safety in accordance with the Clery Act that was established in 1990. All post-secondary institutions participating in Higher Education Acts Title IX student financial assistance programs are required to disclose campus crime statistics and security information.
For WCU in particular, in 2014, there were two reported cases of rape, in 2015, there were six reported cases of rape and in 2016, there were seven reported cases of rape. In 2014, there were 25 reported cases of fondling, in 2015, there were two reported cases of fondling. In 2016 however, there was only one reported case of fondling. For further information, including the interview with Chief Steve Lillard and a more in-depth analysis of the Clery Act and other policies set up by the university, click here.
If students are unaware of the resources made available to them and the campus is not providing enough resources for their students, there has to be a divide between the students and the faculty. With the constant increase of the student population at WCU and the lack of communication between faculty and other faculty members, faculty to students and students to students, this raises the question if WCU has a problem with sexual assault.
Parker also mentioned the depleting supply of blue emergency poles on and around WCU’s campus.
“A problem with the blue poles [emergency poles] on campus is apparently they are very expensive to maintain, so they are taking them out slowly…and more and more of them are going down every day,” said Parker.
This raises another important question that the campus should be concerned about.
“If you are on campus and in a good spot then maybe you can get to one of those blue poles, but if you are on campus and not in a good spot then what do you do?” said Parker.
As of right now, there is no answer to that question.
A final concern for the campus and surrounding area is the lack of accessibility to rape kits. The WCU Health Services in the Bird Building on campus does not provide rape kits, as they are too expensive to keep in stock. Harris Regional Hospital, the next closest health center to campus, does provide rape kits but only to those above 18 years of age. The majority of the freshman and some sophomores on WCU’s campus are younger than 18, so what is available for them?
The nearest available facility that provides rape tests for people under the age of 18 in in Swain County, which is over 30 minutes away from campus.
“If there is one thing on this campus that I think they need to do above all else, they have got to start keeping rape kits in stock. Even if they are having to ship them out to Swain County to get them tested, having that resource on campus makes people more likely to go and get swabbed than if they had to drive all the way out to Swain County,” said Parker.
Regardless, there are apparent issues surrounding the awareness and resources on Western Carolina University’s campus. Only time will tell if any of these problems will be fixed.
If you or someone you know has experienced any form of sexual assault or domestic violence please contact any number of these resources listed below.
- WCU Emergency Number 828.227.8911
- WCU Non-Emergency Number 828.227.7301
- Christina Lynn Parker 910.985.0541 or at clparker2@catamount.wcu.edu
- CAPS 828.227.7469 or after hours and weekend ask for the crisis clinician: 828.227.8911
- Western NC 24 hour crisis line: 888.315.2880
- Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800.273.8255
- Off Campus North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault 919.871.1015
- Harris Regional Hospital 828.586.7000
- Reach of Macon County 828.369.5544
- WNC Mobile Mental Health Crisis Line 800.849.6127
- Our Voice 828.255.7576
- Rape Victim Assistance Program 800.826.6200
- National Sexual Assault Hotline 800.656.HOPE
- Statewide Automated Victim Assistant and Notification (SAVAN) 822.NC.SAVAN
There are resources out there and people that will listen. Always remember that.
Related stories:
Sexual assaults at WCU
Sexual assault in the spotlight
Sexual assault prevention online program “Haven” may not be right for universities
Opinion: SGA missed the mark on apology for Sexual Assault Awareness Event
