Throughout history, and around the world, rape has been used as a weapon of war – a way to demonstrate and maintain power. But when it comes to addressing sexual violence on university campuses, we seem to have forgotten the role of power. Too often, we focus on teaching women how not to get raped, rather than teaching perpetrators not to rape. This strategy significantly misrepresents the problem of sexual violence.

Examining the role of power in sexual violence would help us more effectively address and eradicate sexual violence from university campuses.

There are two key strategies. The first is to name perpetrators as the cause of sexual violence. In the US, where I’m based, we focus on the number of victims affected by sexual assault by saying things like, “One in four women [pdf] will be the victim of sexual violence during their university career”. However, while this fact illustrates the magnitude of the problem, it also makes it sound as though the violence just happens, as if no one is responsible for it.

In the US, we know that approximately one in 10 men studying at university have committed sexual violence. What if we said, “One in 10 men will commit sexual violence during his time at university”? This shifts our gaze to the perpetrators, and away from the victims.

This statistic may also help give us a more accurate picture of the dynamics of sexual violence on our campuses by illustrating that members of our own communities – not strangers – are primarily responsible.

The second approach is to provide accurate information through campus safety tips and crime alerts. Many of these strategies unintentionally send a confusing or inaccurate message about sexual violence.

In a study of websites dedicated to campus safety, researchers found that most focused their safety strategies on potential victims and portrayed the primary cause of violence as strangers. Sexual violence prevention campaigns said things like “never walk alone at night” or “be aware of your surroundings”. All sage advice, but things that most people (especially women) have been taught to do since they were young.

This advice reinforces the idea that most violence is committed by a stranger, rather than someone known to the victim. The vast majority of sexual violence on university campuses is perpetrated by someone known to the victim – often someone with whom the victim is in a relationship.

Universities can address this information gap by fully reporting the rates of sexual violence on campus, including the number of stranger assaults compared to acquaintance and relationship assaults. These reports should not rely only on assaults reported to the police, since these tend to underestimate rates.

My students reviewed more than 50 safety alerts sent out on more than 10 campuses in the US in one academic year, noting that race was usually mentioned only when the perpetrator of the crime was black or Latino. In many cases, the race of the perpetrator was not mentioned, which could mean a number of things, including that their race was unknown or that they were white.

In addition to perpetuating racism directed toward black men, this approach increases the potential risk of sexual violence by teaching people to be fearful of black men as potential rapists, rather than men in their own racial groups. Research shows that most people generally experience sexual assault by someone who shares their racial identity.



Engaging in power-conscious strategies to address sexual violence requires courage. It is much easier to continue to teach people how not to get raped than to address perpetrators and potential perpetrators. However, if teaching potential victims how not to get raped worked, we would have eradicated sexual violence long ago. It’s time to try something else.

Chris Linder is an assistant professor at the University of Georgia and author of Sexual Violence on Campus: Power-Conscious Approaches to Awareness, Prevention, and Response

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