Whitman’s 2006 Annual Security Report was released on Oct. 1, as required by the U.S. Department of Education. According to the Handbook for Crime Reporting, this report must be published and distributed by Oct. 1 every year. Whitman students were made aware of the report through the students’ listserv.
The report lays out in detail all of the various crimes reported on campus but also includes policies on sexual assault in particular. Sexual offenses fall into one of two categories. “Forcible” implies any sex act against another person, forcibly and/or against that person’s will. “Non-forcible” is defined as any sexual situation where the victim is incapable of giving consent.
In the last three years reported (2004, ’05 and ’06), there were no incidents on Whitman’s campus of non-forcible rape. This category is divided into statutory rape and incest.
The number of forced rapes this year was the highest, with six campus offenses and one off-campus offense. While this number is much lower than the number of actual offenses occurring, it’s actually higher than at many larger schools that may have a more complicated disclosure system.
“Pretty much all the numbers you’re going to see … are all statistics that come from our pink forms,” said Barbara Maxwell. Maxwell is Whitman’s sexual misconduct response coordinator. She is responsible for distribution of Sexual Misconduct Incident Report Forms or ‘pink forms,’ as they are known to students. These forms are an anonymous, confidential way for anyone to report incidents they have either experienced or have heard from a friend, student or other acquaintance Space is provided to describe the incident, and several resources for victims are listed including the Health Center, Walla Walla Police and the dean of students.
Maxwell stressed the importance of students knowing that disclosing on a pink form does not imply any action being taken by the College. “The pink forms do nothing,” she said. “I use them for two reasons: one, for the statistics. The other, it gives me a sense of who our students are confiding in.” One conclusion this has led to is that Residence Life members especially hear about incidents but very rarely fill out forms to report them. This fall Maxwell has spoken to residence directors about the importance of disclosing for statistical purposes.
Numbers from these forms are entered into the Security Report for the year they are reported, not necessarily the year they occur. When asked why victims may wait for up to several years before disclosing, Maxwell places a large emphasis on self-blame and the reactions of friends. She also points out that new students are more at risk than any other group on campus. “They’re in a new situation, testing their limits, and they’re more likely to blame a bad situation on themselves,” she said.
One female senior waited three years to report an incident from early her freshman year. “My friends thought it was no big deal when I described what happened. It upset me a lot. When I was still thinking about it three years later, I knew it was a big deal.”
This student spoke with Maxwell, who told her that what she experienced was attempted rape. “I’m glad I disclosed, because it made me realize I wasn’t wrong for feeling bad,” she said. She agrees with Maxwell that students need to know that reporting late does not change their options in terms of potential action.
After the Security Report was originally sent out on the listserv from Maxwell’s office, several students re-sent it to campus groups to make sure it was read. Gabriela Salvidea sent it to FACE, the feminist group on campus. “Just because Whitman feels like a womb does not mean we’re sheltered from the realities of sexual abuse,” she said in an e-mail. “Women are disproportionately affected by sexual crime, but it’s equally important that men and women know these statistics.”
Pink forms are available all over campus. Look for them in bathrooms, with RAs and RDs, in Maxwell’s office in Reid, with the dean of students and at the front desk of Reid.
