The majority of rapes occurring on Ohio University's campus involve acquaintances, and rape victims usually do not press charges, said Lt. Rich Russell of the Ohio University Police Department.
Stranger rapes are very
very rare said Russell, adding that stranger rapes result from a predator looking for someone to sexually assault.
It has been more than a year since a stranger rape was reported on campus, Russell said.
According to Cleary Statistics compiled and released by OUPD, there were 19 rapes on campus in 2004.
Cleary Statistics, statistics prepared by university police to comply with state legislation, show less sexual assaults than statistics compiled by city police or Hudson Health Center because Cleary has stricter guidelines on what should be reported as a sexual assault and does not include assaults occurring off campus, said Char Kopchick, director of Heath Education and Wellness at Hudson Health Center.
For OUPD to investigate a rape or sexual assault, students must be willing to give information about a suspect, Russell said. Since victims generally know their assailant, victims have a choice as to whether they want to give police their assailant's name, he said.
Victims who choose to press charges can expect police to thoroughly investigate the case, said detective Rick Olexa of the Athens Police Department.
This is something that we take seriously and investigate fairly aggressively Olexa said.
Counseling services are available to students regardless of whether they press charges, Kopchick said, adding that educating students is a key part of helping sexual assault victims.
People won't come forward if they don't consider what happened to them to be a sexual assault
she said.
A new OU policy requires any university employee who has information about a sexual assault involving students to report it, Russell said.
The new system is to make sure that (a sexual assault) doesn't slip by
he said.
Kopchick said OU is using a policy of risk reduction to educate students, teaching female students to avoid situations where rapes could occur and male students to protect themselves from being accused of sexual assault.
Women might consider something to be a sexual assault, while men might see it as consensual, Kopchick said.
The key to it all is making people clear on what sexual assault really is
she said.
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Elyse Ball
