photo illustration by SARAH ANDREWS | Photo Editor

Don’t walk alone at night. Always tell people where you are going to be, and when you will get there. Travel in groups. Carry your keys like a weapon.

We’ve all heard the classic advice for keeping ourselves safe. Yet, 18-24 years old remains the age range most at risk for sexual violence, according to University of Massachusetts-Boston psy­chologist David Lisak.

Although Drake’s compact campus allows for easy mobility and limited interaction with the surrounding neighborhoods, sex­ual assault is still an issue that Drake, like college campuses across the country, must address.

Chief of Drake Security Hans Hanson said he thinks that many people still believe false myths about ‘stranger rape.’

“They clearly miss the point as it relates to most assault cases at Drake University and other campuses throughout the nation,” Hanson said. “In general, we do not see victims walking around campus being physically assaulted, dragged into the bushes, a dark area or a car by a stranger who then perpetrates an un­wanted sexual act.”

The reality is that sexual assault is often much more conspicu­ous.

Several recent studies, including one from the Iowa Coalition Against Sexual Assault, estimate that in over 80 percent of sexual assault cases, the victim was somehow acquainted with the per­petrator.

Through his 18 years at Drake Security, and 20 years at the Des Moines Police Department, Hanson said he has noticed that connection with the consumption of alcohol is another common trend in cases of sexual assault on campus.

“In every case we have reported to us on campus, there have been some common elements – that the victim knew the per­petrator and that alcohol consumption by both the victim and perpetrator occurred prior to the incident,” Hanson said.

“Therefore, my primary preventative advice regarding sexual assault leans heavily on limiting alcohol consumption and the ‘true trust’ involving people you know – or think you know.”

Iowa CASA Executive Director Beth Barnhill said that, among college students, people not as familiar with campus cul­ture, freshmen and international students are the primary targets of sexual assault.

Barnhill said that her approach to the issue of sexual assault deals not with the victims of sexual assault, but with bystanders who could help prevent sexual assault.

“If you see someone in a situation where you think they may be vulnerable to sexual assault, intervening and inserting yourself in the discussion is the best way to help,” Barnhill said.

‘Date rape’ has been added to the lexicon of sexual assault terminology. The phrase is generally used to show acquaintance between the victim and the perpetrator. Barnhill said that this term has created unfair consequences in how rape is treated in society.

“In the culture, [date rape] tends to be used to minimize the experience, but it is absolutely just as traumatic, if not more trau­matic to be raped by someone you know rather than someone you don’t know,” Barnhill said. “In fact, some studies show that date rape may be more traumatic because of the trust issues that are broken.”

Hanson said that it is hard to gain accurate information about sexual assault on campus because most cases go unreported. One of the most pervasive problems in reported cases on campus is that Drake security cameras have not captured footage of the in­cidents because of their location.

“Virtually every case we’ve investigated in the last 18 years occurred in a location of trust,” Hanson said. “By this, I mean a location where the victim and perpetrator have been before to­gether – a residence hall room of either person, a friend’s room or an off-campus apartment or building.”

Hanson and Barnhill agree that addressing the problem of sexual assault requires a shift in the way the crime is perceived in a wider social context.

“Sort of like drunk driving, addressing the issue of date rape has to do with the bystander effect,” Barnhill said. “We haven’t eliminated drunk driving, but people help prevent it by taking away people’s car keys and having designated drivers and other social measures.

“Changing the culture around sexual assault is more effective than changing your individual behavior to prevent it.”