AU's handling of sexual assault reporting may be in violation of the Clery Act, a national law regulating campus crime reports, according to JoAnna Smith, the president of Women's Initiative and a junior in the School of Public Affairs.
Passed in 1990, the Clery Act requires universities and colleges to publish an annual statement listing the crimes reported that year on campus and in the surrounding areas. It also issues warnings if there is an ongoing threat to campus safety. Every institutional office dealing with campus affairs has a legal responsibility to report any instance of sexual assault, according to the Web site of Security on Campus, Inc., a watchdog organization created by the parents of Jeanne Clery, a Lehigh University student who was raped and murdered in her dorm room on April 5, 1986.
AU's 2005 Annual Security Report, the most recent edition issued by the Department of Public Safety, cites only one instance of forcible sexual assault on campus, down from eight instances in 2003.
"It's silly to think that only one sexual assault happened on our campus last year," Smith said. "I can think of about 12 people, off the top of my head, who have told me that they have been sexually assaulted in the last year here on campus."
Smith said cases of stranger rape, or when an unknown person assaults a woman, may be declining, but there is a higher risk that women will be assaulted at off-campus parties or by a partner. These types of rape are less likely to appear on the reporting records, since when sexual assault is between partners, it is considered less of a crime and victims who were drinking tend to blame themselves for assaults, she said.
"I don't think that it's a conscious decision that the school is making to cover up these things," Smith said. "I just think that there needs to be a clarification about what needs be reported in the annual report and clarification on what the departments and campus life need to be actually reporting."
AU's administration focuses on the prevention of sexual assault, with programs such as blue light phones, Rape Aggression Defense classes and Judicial Affairs and Mediation Services, Smith said.
While AU has a strong rape prevention program, there are fewer programs in place to report instances of assault. To respect victim's privacy, not all assaults reported to AU officials are filed in police reports. It is up to the survivor to file a report and take action against her attacker, Edythe Cook, the Health Center's patient services coordinator, said.
"If a student wishes to proceed with criminal charges, Public Safety has to notify the Metropolitan Police Department who will be responsible for pursuing the criminal investigation," Cook said.
Neither Public Safety nor the Health Center can file official police reports of sexual assault and arrange for the Metropolitan police to come if a survivor asks to press charges, Smith said. This eliminates the need for survivors to tell their story multiple times and helps preserve the chain of evidence. If a victim does not want to file a police report on the assault, they can report it to either the Student Health Center or Public Safety without involving the police.
Resident assistants and directors are also discouraged from taking the reports of sexual assault victims, since they are not properly trained, and it may lead to confusion over accounts later on, Smith said.
However, sexual assaults reported to Public Safety or any branch of the Office of Campus Life, with the exception of religious leaders and mental health professionals, should be listed on the Annual Security Report, Smith said, even if those assaults are not reported to the police. Religious leaders and mental health professionals are exempted since confessions made to them are confidential under the law.
Public Safety did not comment on its campus reporting record.
A March 19 complaint brought by Security on Campus, Inc., and the Department of Education against Eastern Michigan University highlights the problems with universities reporting under the Clery Act.
The act allows schools to withhold information from the alerts that would compromise investigations, according to the complaint against EMU. However, general alerts must notify the campus community of continuing threats to security, even if the investigation is ongoing.
EMU campus authorities discovered the body of Laura Dickinson, 22, a freshman at the school on Dec. 15, 2006. Dickinson was half-dressed with a pillow over her face, according to the complaint.
The next day, EMU's communications department released a statement assuring the community that they did not suspect foul play in the incident.
EMU did not notify the community or Dickinson's parents of the criminal investigation until Feb. 23, when a suspect was arrested and charged for Dickinson's death. The university did not release the full details of the case to preserve the integrity of the investigation, according to a Feb. 28 press release.
The loss of Dickinson's keys and the continued search for the suspect indicated a risk to campus security, said the compliant.
"Student safety has always been our major concern and we take our responsibility seriously," said Pamela Young, the director of Communications for EMU.
Since 1990, the Department of Education has found 16 schools in violation of the Clery Act.
DEFINITIONS OF SEXUAL OFFENSES AT AU
The 2005 Annual Security Report issued by Public Safety classifies sexual crimes into two categories, forcible and nonforcible offenses. Below are examples of both. Students who are found responsible for sex-related offenses are given sanctions implemented by the dean of students based on university policies. Predictable consequences generally include suspension or dismissal from AU.
Forcible Sex Offenses Defined as "any sexual act directed against another person, forcibly and/or against that person's will," or "not forcibly or against the person's will where the victim is incapable of giving consent." Include rape, sodomy and sexual assault with an object and forcible fondling.
Nonforcible Sex Offenses Nonforcible sex offenses include incest and statutory rape.
SOURCE: Public Safety 2005 Annual Security Report
