UW student Elizabeth Johnson was raped by someone she trusted. Johnson was raped in high school. She reported her rapist to the police; however, because he was a minor he was convicted of the misdemeanor offense of sexual battery. Later, he was hired as a resident assistant (RA) at Western Wyoming Community College where he continued to sexually harass Johnson during her stay in the dorms.
“You want to trust the people in the dorms you are living with who have access to your life, but if you can’t you feel helpless,” Johnson said.
Over a five-year stay, a college woman’s risk of experiencing a sexual assault or attempted sexual assault is between one and five and one and four, according to a 2000 Department of Justice study.
Johnson was one of those women.
Unfortunately, events like this are not as rare as one would like think, as the vast majority of sexual assaults go unreported, according to a 2000 US Department of Justice study. Moreover, 60 percent of reported on campus rapes take place in the student’s place of residence and around 10 percent occur in fraternities.
The reported rate of sexual assault and attempted sexual assault at UW is around seven percent.
“Sexual assault at the University of Wyoming is still a problem that needs addressing,” Megan Selheim, UW’s Stop Violence coordinator, said.
Stories like Johnson’s are more common than the statistics suggest.
“Although we are not the worst and the University Of Wyoming’s numbers are about average, it is not good, because it is bad everywhere,” Selheim said.
Selheim said she estimates around 800 current female students have been raped and the vast majority of those are never reported.
As an immense amount of rapes are never reported, many rapists never face any repercussions for their crimes. This allows them to continue their sexually aggressive behavior and become trusted members of society.
For Johnson, her rapist’s role in her life became nightmarish.
“I blocked him from my phone, my Facebook. I did everything to try to get away from him, but then I went to college and there he was as an RA” Johnson said.
She said she was forced into a world where her rapist had the ability to know everything about her, to always be involved in her life. Almost everyday she had to walk by him as he made derogatory comments.
“I hated it…it felt as though he was burning holes through me,” Johnson said.
She said she was trapped, unable to feel safe in her own home, unable to rely on the school to provide the assistance necessary to resolve the situation.
Selheim said it is imperative UW get involved in the issue of sexual assault.
“The problem of sexual assault on college campuses is one that needs to be addressed,” Selheim said. “We seek to address the common issues of power, control and inequality in order to create a safe environment for UW students, faculty, staff and community members.”
Johnson said she is satisfied with programs offered on campus for sexual assault victims.
The university offers a free weekly support group for survivors of sexual assault. Selheim with the STOP Violence Program can be reached at 307-766-3434 and Sarah Steinmetz, from the UW Psychology Clinic can be reached at 314-799-7664. Both of these departments offer resources for survivors of sexual assault
