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Crime on college campuses: female students are at high risk of violence, especially sexual assault. Litigation based on assumption of duty, foreseeability, and other straightforward premises theories can ensure that colleges live up to their promises to keep students safe.

Article Excerpt
College campuses are high-crime areas. A person is more likely to be a crime victim on a college campus than almost anywhere else in the country. Most colleges know this, yet the institutional response to the problem is often just a cover-up.

Of all violent crimes that occur on campus, rape is the most common. (1) One in four college women is the victim of rape or attempted rape. One study found that in just seven months, there were 35 rapes for every 1,000 female students. (2) Ninety percent of women who are raped on campus know their assailants--usually classmates, friends, boyfriends, or ex-boyfriends. (3) Most of the rapes occur at parties or in dormitory rooms. Students are most vulnerable to rape during the first few weeks of their freshman and sophomore years. (4)

Several factors may contribute to this heightened risk: frequent unsupervised parties, private dormitory rooms, and the abundance of alcohol and drugs, for instance. Many college students, typically away from home for the first time and unaware of the dangers facing them, may have a false sense of safety on campus.

Over half of campus rapes happen in the victim's residence; 10 percent take place in fraternities. (5) While most of these crimes are reported, about a third are not, mostly because the victims fear reprisal. (6)

In short, rape is a clearly foreseeable occurrence on many campuses: Indeed, a Department of Justice report concluded that at a college with 10,000 female students, more than 350 rapes a year could occur. (7)

Sexual assault devastates a woman's physical and emotional well-being and can even affect her schoolwork and career plans. Rape victims can experience shock, humiliation, anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, social isolation, anger, distrust of others, fear of AIDS, guilt, and sexual dysfunction. (8) Many drop out of school, often because they cannot tolerate continued interactions with their attacker. (9)

Institutional response

Colleges typically assure their students that they will be safe on school grounds. Their admissions materials often emphasize safety and note the presence of campus police officers and security guards. Student handbooks often set out standards of conduct that restrict alcohol or drug use and prohibit certain types of dangerous social events such as "open" parties (parties that anyone can attend, including nonstudents). Student clubs, fraternities, and other groups accept responsibility for the behavior of their members, alumni, and guests, in exchange for maintaining a presence on the campus. Unfortunately, these rules are often not enforced....

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