Recent Incidents Draw Attention to Danger of Rape

When many people think of rape they imagine an attack by a stranger as they walk alone in the dark.

Yet according to Ellen Christensen, that's usually not the way it goes, especially here at UB where there have been four alleged rapes involving students in the past three weeks -- as many as had been reported in the past six years.

"What students need to know is that these rapes are acquaintance-related," said Christensen, director of Health Education and Health Services. "That means they have met the person at a party, or know them very well."

Christensen said while the recent incidents show that sexual violence at UB run deeper than most students realize, few students take the threat as seriously as they should.

"What went wrong? And why aren't people talking about these incidents?" Christensen said.

All the recent UB incidents had one thing in common, Christensen said: no strangers were involved.

During the weekend of Oct. 16 a teaching assistant was charged with the first-degree rape and assault of a student in Flickinger Court and another student reported a third-degree rape at Flint Village. By law, a third-degree rape means the victim was unable to consent, in this case because she was impaired by alcohol.

According to John Grela, four alleged rapes in such a short amount of time are very uncommon. During the last six years, there have only been four reported rapes at UB, although there have been 10 sexual offenses in the last four years, he said.

UB's sexual offense statistics overall are comparable to other schools, Grela said.

But in the eyes of Christensen, the true scope of problem does not fit behind statistics that only include reported assaults when so many go unreported every semester.

One out of four women will be sexually assaulted during their college years, she said. Eighty percent of those assaults will be date or acquaintance related, and 85 percent will involve the use of alcohol or drugs.

Most students don't report rapes because they either know the perpetrator, they are embarrassed, they think it's their fault, they can't believe it happened or they feel it won't be an awkward situation, Christensen said.

Many college rapes happen at parties or just afterward, she added. In the most recent alleged rape at UB, on Halloween weekend, the female student had to be taken to the Erie County Medical Center after leaving a party on Minnesota Avenue.

"She left with someone who was escorting her from the party to another location," said Detective Sal Valvo of the Buffalo Police's Sexual Offense Squad. "The person pulled her into an alley and sexually assaulted her."

Christensen said parties can be particularly dangerous because they lull students into a false sense of safety.

"A lot of the problems stem from parties. People go there looking to hook up and put themselves in situations where rape is a possibility, especially when alcohol is involved," she said.

"At a party there are many false assumptions that you are safe," Christensen added. "You assume that everyone else is just like you."

Christensen said part of the problem stems from the fact that not enough men know about the risks of rape and what the law says about rape.

"No one is talking to men about the risks of rape," she said. "Most of the recent cases involved alcohol and men should pay more attention to this. A woman can say no not only verbally but non-verbally as well."

Christensen added that many male students also forget that they, too, can be sexually assaulted or raped.

"Men have to remember that they can also become a victim to rape," she said. "One out of six men will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime."

Christensen said one of her biggest hopes is that students take notice of what's happening around them and make the efforts to learn about rape and raise awareness of the problem, whether that means through workshops, women's studies courses, or events like Take Back the Night. The Anti-Rape Task Force, which has been at UB since 1975, is also a resource of which students should take advantage.

According to Christensen, designated drivers also have proven to be an effective plan in rape prevention since it is yet another way of surrounding yourself with friends who will look after you in case alcohol causes you to make irrational decisions.

And if it's past the stage of prevention and the assault has already happened, Christensen said she wants every student to know that if they become a victim of rape there are many places to turn.

Counseling Services, Student Health Services, Wellness Education Services, Campus Ministries, Off-Campus Crisis Services, Health Education and Human Services and New York State Victims Assistance are all available to UB students.