News of sexual assaults on college campuses has become far too commonplace in contemporary society, but a recent development may lead to a tightening of regulations and school awareness.
Former University of Missouri swimmer Sasha Menu Courey was assaulted by as many as three football players while attending school, but chose not to report the crimes to the police. The school did not investigate the incidents and 16 months later Courey committed suicide.
Her parents are claiming that her death was a direct result of the assaults she endured. The University is claiming that it was never told about the assaults and is now investigating the situation. Although they are claiming that they followed the letter of the law and lacked proper notification, many, including Courey’s parents, are left with questions as to what could have been done differently to insure justice for a young woman trying to earn an education.
In light of Courey’s death and many similar incidents, such as the well-publicized sexual abuse scandal at Penn State University, President Obama recently announced a new taskforce meant to look into reports of sexual assault on college campuses. The problem has become so widespread that it is being considered a public health epidemic by the White House.
Such incidents have created a college culture that is dangerous for young women. Drastic change is needed to narrow the gap in the alarming statistics used to describe the great inequality between number of assaults, number of assaults reported, and number of individuals brought to justice for their actions.
[Image via Live News]