Reports of sexual assaults at Georgia college campuses nearly doubled over two years, according to a review of federal education data and law enforcement records by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Some campus officials attribute the sharp rise between 2010 and 2012 to better education and outreach, which encourages victims to seek help.
But even as reporting has climbed, prosecutions have not. No cases were prosecuted at the two colleges with the most reported offenses in 2012: Emory University and the University of Georgia.
That year, 127 rapes and other forced sexual assaults were reported at Georgia campuses, according to the most recent data reported to the U.S. Department of Education. By law, colleges must inform the federal agency of all reported sexual assaults, whether they were reported to police or agencies such as counseling services.
In 2011, 87 rapes were reported at Georgia colleges. In 2010, the figure was 67.
Few cases go public, but when they do they tend to grab headlines. In Atlanta this year, three Morehouse College basketball players accused of raping a Spelman College student. They have not been indicted, but the Fulton County district attorney said this month that the investigation continues. At Florida State University, quarterback Jameis Winston was awarded the Heisman trophy just days after prosecutors decided not to pursue a rape charge against him.
Many reports are made anonymously by students through counseling centers and never make their way to police to pursue. That underscores the difficulty of prosecuting such attacks even in an era marked by calls for greater awareness and accountability.
“I think it’s this culture of blame for the victim,” said Jean Chin, director of student health services at the University of Georgia, which had 14 reported rapes in 2012. “Victims don’t generally want to be met with, ‘Why did you dress so provocatively? Why did you drink so much? Why did you go out at 2 a.m.?’”
“We’re trying to get students to come forward so we can provide services to them,” Chin said. “We don’t force people to report to the police. We encourage people to.”
With more than 30,000 students, UGA’s 14 reported offenses in 2012 was more than double the five from the year before but still well below what many officials consider a the likely incidence.
According to a number of surveys of students on college campuses, many victims of rape and other sexual assaults still don’t come forward. A 2013 survey by the American College Health Association found that 1.6 percent of students said they had been subjected to sexual penetration without their consent in the past 12 months. On a campus with as many students as UGA, that would amount to nearly 500 incidents.
Although Emory, with a student population about half UGA’s, had 26 reported rapes in 2012, up from 12 the previous year, university officials consider that a positive sign.
“We’re happy with the increase,” said Lauren Bernstein, who runs sexual abuse counseling services at Emory. “It means we are reaching more students.”
The increase doesn’t mean that more students are being raped, she said. “Reporting is not prevalence.”
In the last few years, Emory has invested time and money training student sexual assault peer counselors. The belief is that students are more likely to seek advice from a fellow student, who can then refer them to counseling services.
Some professionals who work with rape victims are skeptical that universities generally are eager to increase reporting.
“Colleges and universities want their crime statistics to be low,” said Melanie Bliss, a Decatur psychologist who treats rape victims. “There are cases where people, under the radar, are encouraged not to file charges.”
Three of the Emory cases that occurred on the main campus were reported to campus police; the rest were anonymous. Campus officials say the three were investigated but none produced charges, either because the evidence was insufficient or the person who made the report chose not to pursue the case.
At UGA, the last time officials tried to prosecute a rape was 2002, said UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson. That case against three UGA athletes fell apart. A female student said she had consensual sex with Tony Cole, a basketball player. She said he then encouraged teammate Steve Thomas and football player Brandon Williams to rape her.
The Clarke County district attorney dropped charges against Cole and Thomas after a jury acquitted Williams.
Psychologists, college officials and police acknowledge that when attacks aren’t reported or prosecuted, predators may feel free to commit more crimes. But police say the facts surrounding rapes on campus, which usually occur during dates or hookups, often with large quantities of alcohol involved, can undermine successful prosecutions.
Psychologists say they want victims to come forward to get the necessary counseling, and they fear that pushing women to prosecute will undermine their treatment or discourage them from seeking it. Victims often fear a backlash against them from other students and dread having to recount the attack in court.
“Theoretically and on a gut level, I totally agree that these things should be prosecuted,” said Jill Lee Barber, director of counseling center at Georgia State University. “However as a psychologist who treats people who have been raped, I know there are a lot of barriers.
“I don’t think that means we give up on holding people accountable for rape. It just makes it a thornier issue,” she said.
Many victims suffer serious psychological damage, which is why psychologists say counseling is critical. About 13 percent of victims attempt suicide, Bliss said. The incidence of both post-traumatic stress and clinical depression is around one-third.
“We are here to create a safe space for survivors,” said Emory’s Bernstein. “Of course, eventually we want a culture in which there are no sexual assaults. But it’s important that survivors get the help they need, and that’s our goal.”
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