OPINION: Amid scandals, USC must address prevalence of sexual assault

In light of the sexual misconduct scandals that USC has been forced to address, the community has finally caught a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes at the University. However, while many of the larger, administrative issues have finally been made public, the University still refuses to exercise transparency and is keeping other aspects of campus life under wraps. In spite of the controversy surrounding former campus gynecologist George Tyndall, the University has been remarkably quiet about the number of sexual assault allegations that students report.

Since the beginning of the Fall 2018 semester, at least 11 sexual assaults have been reported to DPS, nearly all of them coming from students. DPS has also logged numerous harassment allegations, batteries and instances of obscene behavior in its daily crime and fire log. And let’s not forget, these are just the incidents that were actually reported. According to a 2013 report by the U.S. Department of Justice, only about 20 percent of female student victims report to law enforcement, and of those who don’t, only 4 percent report to bodies other than the police. This statistic excludes 76 percent of sexual assaults experienced by women in particular.

Still, 11 sexual offenses in only two months is a shockingly high number. While these incidents transpired right under the University’s nose and have been made public by DPS logs, the majority of students are unawareof their frequency.

It seems clear that the school should be more transparent about what really goes on within the student body. While the University has been forced to be more forthcoming with administrative information, it feels like these scandals are taking attention away from the myriad incidents affecting students on a more personal level. Sexual assault is not going away on USC’s campus, but it seems that the attention paid to it is.

Some will say that this is the way things have always been, and that sexual assault on campus is notorious for not being dealt with effectively or even taken seriously. Sadly, this is likely true. However, it’s all the more reason for universities like USC to address it. The University must accept the fact that sexual assault is still prevalent on campus, even when it is not the most newsworthy occurance, and encourage students to report incidents and take action to prevent assault in their peer groups.

Of the 80 percent of students who didn’t report their assault to law enforcement, 26 percent of college-aged females chose not to report their assault because they believed it was a personal matter. While this is a decision that belongs solely to the victim, it is imperative to reframe campus sexual assault as something that happens far more frequently than the University cares to admit; it’s necessary to take the conversation from the private to the public sphere, if people are willing. The University must provide victims of sexual assault with a more robust support system to rely on on-campus.

At the end of the day, students deserve to know what is happening close to campus weekly or even daily to their peers, whether or not it portrays the University in a positive light. The continued prevalence of sexual assault on campus is something that must be addressed, and cannot be left on the backburner due to other issues the University is dealing with.