The month of April is Sexual Assault Awareness month and WWU's student-athletes and
Student-Athlete Advisory Group (SAAC) is committed to making a difference on education and prevention of sexual assaults.
All 15 of WWU's intercollegiate programs were active during the week of April 15-21 through a social media campaign and campus activities spreading the word on resources available and overall awareness of sexual assault.
Some of the campaign facts that were distributed include the following (courtesy of the NCAA):
- Every 98 seconds, another American is sexually assaulted. (Source)
- One in 6 American women has been subject to attempted or completed rape in her lifetime. (Source)
- One in 33 American men has been subject to attempted or completed rape in his lifetime. (Source)
- College-age women (18-24) experience sexual assault at a rate three to four times higher than other women. (Source)
- The 2015 Association of American Universities Survey of 27 large colleges (with an average student population of 29,000) found that 23 percent of undergraduate women and 5 percent of undergraduate men had experienced some form of rape or sexual assault involving physical force or incapacitation since enrolling in college. (Source)
- Only 1 in 5 female sexual violence survivors, ages 18-24, reported the assault to law enforcement. Those in college are less likely to report their assault than females 18-24 not enrolled in college. (Source)
- More than 50 percent of college sexual assaults occur in August, September, October or November. (Source)
- A 2015 AAU survey found that students' year in school and their gender identity were related to sexual violence. Among females, first-year students were more likely to experience sexual violence, and the rates declined with each additional year of college. Undergraduates on the trans spectrum (transgender, nonconforming, questioning) experience sexual violence at higher rates. (Source)
- Data from a National College Health Assessment survey found that 14 percent of female student-athletes and 5 percent of male student-athletes experienced sexual violence within the past 12 months. When comparing the experiences of student-athletes to their non-athlete peers, female student-athletes are as likely to experience sexual violence as their non-athlete counterparts. However, among undergraduate males, student-athletes were significantly more likely to have experienced sexual penetration without consent than male non-athletes (0.9 percent vs. 0.6 percent). Citation: American College Health Association. American College Health Association-National College Health Assessment, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017 [data file]. Hanover, MD: American College Health Association [producer and distributor]; (2018-11-15).
Western Washington University has a number of resources available to students if they encounter sexual assault, with the following contact information:
Here are some of the social media posts that WWU Student-Athletes used to help spread the message with the hashtag #StudentAthletesInAction:
