Did You Know?

1. THE FIRST SEMESTER IS THE MOST DANGEROUS TIME IN A COLLEGE CAREER. College students, especially first-year women, are most at risk to experience rape or sexual assault from the first day of school until Thanksgiving.
2. ALCOHOL IS THE #1 DATE-RAPE DRUG ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.  In the majority of reported cases of rape or sexual assault, one or both people were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the assault.
3. ALCOHOL AND SEXUAL CONTACT SHOULD NEVER MIX. Intoxication is not an excuse for failure to obtain consent.  A person incapacitated by alcohol is incapable of giving consent.
4. ATTIRE DOES NOT INDICATE A PLAN FOR THE EVENING.  No matter what someone chooses to wear, it is never justification for unwanted sexual activity.
5. RAPE ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS IS NOT ALWAYS A STRANGER JUMPING OUT OF THE BUSHES. College students are more likely to be assaulted by an acquaintance, which means that the person perpetrating the assault could be part of the campus community.
6. WE CAN BE PART OF THE SOLUTION.  If perpetrators of acquaintance rape are typically members of our own community, every student has the ability to be an active bystander who can intervene to prevent this crime.
7. BE FAMILIAR WITH THE NEW SEXUAL ASSAULT POLICY AT NOTRE DAME.  Check out more details at orlh.nd.edu.
8. KNOW YOUR 24/7 RESOURCES.
   • NDSP: 574.631.5555
   • University Health Center: 574.631.7497
   • SOS Rape Crisis Help Line: 574.289.HELP
   • University Counseling Center: 574.631.7336
   • Deputy Title IX Coordinator: 574.631.7728

Important Facts

• It is never the survivor's fault.
• A survivor's behavior is irrelevant, including his/her dress. No one deserves, asks for, or provokes sexual assault.
• It is estimated that as many as 1 in 4 college women will be sexually assaulted during their college years.
• Recent statistics indicate that 10% of sexual assault survivors are men.
• Sexual assault is a crime of dominance, control, and power, not love.
• Sexual assault is a violent and aggressive act. Sexual assault is not a sexual act.
• Using alcohol or drugs is not an excuse for sexual assault.
• Submission out of fear is not consent, and does not imply failure on the part of the survivor.
• A survivor of acquaintance or date rape is as much a survivor as someone assaulted by a stranger.
• Survivors may experience many after effects as a result of sexual assault, and individual reactions may vary.