This week the National Union of Students (NUS) (an organization of 600 student unions in the UK) released “Hidden Marks,” a report on campus sexual assault, the first ever national survey on the subject. I have yet to read the entire report, found in full here, but the key findings reiterate what we know to be true of campus sexual assault here in the US: a shocking number of women report having been seriously assaulted while in college (1 in 7); most have been sexually harassed (68%); the majority of perpetrators were known to the victim and the majority of attacks took place in a residence; rates of reporting are very low; and many assault survivors face serious health and education consequences.

It’s worth noting in particular why students often don’t report (emphasis mine)—according to the survey results, students “felt ashamed or embarrassed; 43 per cent also thought they would be blamed for what had happened, and one in three thought they would not be believed.” As a result, “More than four in ten victims of serious sexual assault have told nobody about what has happened to them.” These sentiments aren’t surprising to hear, especially given public opinion on sexual assault in the UK, but it’s incredibly depressing. I also want to point out though that even when women don’t report to crime to officials, they are likely to “report or discuss what had happened to them with friends or family.” This brings up again the importance of training students on the dynamics of sexual assault and making sure they know how to best support their friends (and themselves) if someone confides in them.

Finally, it’s great to see that the Hidden Marks report focuses its key recommendations on developing institutional policies with the help and input of student unions! Below are their key policy recommendations. Sound familiar?!? I love that they focus on student involvement.

•set out how the institution and students’ union will develop and implement activities to change attitudes and raise awareness of violence;
•enable students and staff to recognise and effectively deal with violence and harassment against women students;
•discuss how to best utilise peer support in tackling violence and harassment;
•contain plans for improving campus design and security so as to help students feel safe;
•outline how the institution will work with relevant agencies to ensure that students access the support services that they need;
•contain steps explaining how reporting will be encouraged;
•set out how the institution will respond to violence against women perpetrated by its students.

(h/t AAWU and Holly Kearl’s twitter feeds)