{"id":127902,"date":"2021-06-11T15:58:14","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T13:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=127902"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:25:41","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:25:41","slug":"amnesty-11-percent-of-female-students-experience-rape","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2021\/06\/11\/amnesty-11-percent-of-female-students-experience-rape\/","title":{"rendered":"Amnesty: ’11 percent of female students experience rape’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Around one in nine female students have been penetrated without consent at some point during their time at university, Amnesty International reports. One percent of male students report non-consensual penetration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it shocking that so many female students experience rape\u201d, says<\/a> Dagmar Oudshoorn, director of Amnesty Netherlands.\u00a0The human rights organisation wants to start a discussion about rape in higher education.<\/p>\n

Amnesty defines rape as all forms of bodily penetration without consent, through insertion of the penis, fingers or an object. Rape does not necessarily involve violence. This is also made explicit in an upcoming amendment<\/a> to the Dutch criminal code.<\/p>\n

Violence<\/h2>

About 80 percent of students agree with this definition, according to a survey among more than a thousand students (both male and female) conducted by research bureau I&O Research. But what does \u2018without consent\u2019 mean exactly? A quarter of the respondents say a non-consensual experience only qualifies as rape if it involves violence or intimidation.<\/p>\n

The victims themselves don\u2019t always use the word rape either: no fewer than 60 percent do not, and 18 percent only do so \u2018sometimes, not always\u2019. Some feel partially responsible for what happened to them, others don\u2019t think of their experiences as serious incidents \u2013 or they report it happened within a relationship. Some believe they should have been more careful, because it happened while they were drunk.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not always possible to say no or resist: some people \u2018freeze up\u2019 when someone tries to force themselves on them. For this reason alone, it\u2019s important to check whether someone actually wants to have sex. Unfortunately, 22 percent of students say they have never heard of this freeze reflex.<\/p>\n

Help<\/h2>

Being raped is a traumatic event that can have severe consequences. Three quarters of rape survivors report problems as a result of their experience. These can be psychological or sexual, but they can also be relationship problems. Academic performance can be negatively affected as well.<\/p>\n

Most students have no idea where they can get help at their institution (61 percent), such as from a confidential counsellor or student psychologist. Only five percent say they know exactly who to turn to. \u201cA staggering 71 percent of women \u2013 who are far more likely to experience rape and sexual violence than men \u2013 don\u2019t know where to get more information or help\u201d, the report states.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018This is unacceptable and requires more attention and action from both educational institutions and the student community\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t–<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLyle Muns (LSVb)\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

The Dutch Student Union says the results of the survey are painful. \u201cThis is unacceptable and requires more attention and action from both educational institutions and the student community\u201d, says union president Lyle Muns.<\/p>\n

Orientation<\/h2>

According to Muns\u2019 organisation, educational institutions must make it clear to their students where they can turn for help \u2013 and they must do so during orientation, before the start of the academic year. A year ago, the union already made an appeal<\/a> for better ways to report transgressive behaviour.<\/p>\n

For the sake of accuracy, it should be noted that the number of female students who have experienced rape is actually higher than 11 percent, as some were raped before going to university. The total is 18 percent. Among men, the figure is 3 percent.<\/p>\n

Amnesty will ask educational institutions to sign a manifesto in which they \u201cpromise to provide better protection for students who have experienced sexual violence\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\t

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