According to a report by the Sexual Abuse Awareness Program, there were 46 incidents of sexual abuse on campus in the past year. Program Coordinator Susan Marine discussed how to handle the aftermath of these attacks at the forum "Women Supporting Women" held last night at the Epsilon Kappa Theta sorority house.
"It is a question of how to support survivors while balancing this with other activities of the [sorority] house," Marine said.
The discussion, attended by approximately 50 women, centered on how a sorority should adjust to accommodate a member who has been sexually assaulted and how the house should interact with the accused.
Topics discussed included whether the accused be allowed to attend parties at the house or whether the sorority should co-sponsor parties with the accused's fraternity, if he is affiliated.
Although the general consensus last night was that sororities represent a social space for women, the policies that flowed from this idea were varied.
"I would rather a woman be comfortable than a man be here," Laura Lanwermeyer '99 said. Another woman said her sorority had actually admitted someone into the house despite the protests of one of the sisters.
Of the 46 incidents of sexual assault committed on campus in the past year, only three were reported to the Committee on Standards, Marine said. Of the three reported cases, only one person was found guilty, and he received a five-term suspension.
Although most cases were not officially reported, these statistics were compiled by Sexual Assault Peer Advisors, the Office of Residential Life, the Dean's Office and faculty reports, Marine said.
She said the reaction of fraternity houses toward sexual abuse cases tends to be, "Why are you holding us responsible?" She mentioned that fraternities do not kick out members who have been accused of sexual assault, indicating an attitude of solidarity.
This attitude "demonstrates an inability to see an individual brother's behavior having an effect on the group," Marine said.
Despite the different reactions of fraternities and sororities to sexual assault, Marine advised that friends should not get involved in others' battles, especially when they do not have the complete story.
However, she encouraged women to act pro-actively for others' safety. "Sexual assault is a life-changing, horrifying thing to happen to someone. Anything you can do to prevent it is important," Marine said.
The discussion then shifted to examine methods of raising awareness about sexual assault, specifically targeting an anonymous mailing recently sent to all freshmen women.
The mailing pictured a Dartmouth fraternity house and was accompanied by a chronicle of an evening spent at the house which ended in rape.
"The mailing was great. Freshmen needed someone to kick fear into us." one freshman woman said. Another woman found the flyer to be an attack against the entire fraternity system.
The shock value of the mailing raised awareness about sexual assault, but there are better ways to get information across, Marine said.
The Sexual Abuse Awareness Program is currently developing an orientation program that deals specifically with sexual assault and alcohol abuse, she added.
"I haven't had a sexual abuse case that did not involve drugs or alcohol [at Dartmouth]," Marine said.
