Most students join university with plans laid out and sure that it is going to be the best time of their lives, however this isn’t how things turn out for some of the students. Their experience isn’t very pleasant and it leaves with scars that are physical, mental and spiritual.
At a focus group discussion about sexual harassment in universities, most of the students had experienced groping, harassment, unwanted touching, coercion, sexual assaults and rape all in one common place, university. This starts with the lecturer using their power to exploit the students in exchange for sexual favours, to the students sexually harassing their classmates and even with a lecturer harassing another.
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out without the person’s consent. Last year there was a social media rising where many names and stories came upon about the above issue. Cases of taking advantage of non sober girls, drugging them, house parties, unwelcome touches in private parts, use of force among others.The recent story is about the Makerere Business University (MUBS) student that was raped and filmed by his assaulter.
What all these cases have in common is a rapist taking advantage of a person they have more power over! The cause of rape is always the rapist yet so many people are quick to blame the victim for wrong place at the wrong time or what they were dressed in, or their alcohol intake. Some people even apply someone’s physical appearance to disregard their cases claiming the victim isn’t attractive enough to be assaulted.
The number of people that are able to report their cases to the police are very few because we all know and understand the system. The money and process to access a rape test kit is very hectic and yet the victim is already in a lot of distress over the events that just happened.
However the community has also applied a culture of silence where they are ready to blame and shame the victim. They are quick to disregard any sexual assault stories despite the amount of energy and courage one needs to share their story. They ask to hear the other side of the story as if they expect the other person to come out and say yes, I raped her/him.
Soon the story is forgotten, everyone is friends again to the alleged assaulter until another victim comes up, dust rises again and soon life goes back to normal except for the victim. This discourages people from reporting or speaking up about their experiences.
The universities don’t have a reporting procedure where rape victims can go to state their cases. Even the ones filed are never brought to light in fear of ruining the universities image to the public.
In 2015, 22 year old Hannah Stubbs commited suicide six months after reporting that she was sexually harrassed at her University. This was after battling months of depression and fear to meet her attacker at the university.
But the question to all of us remains,”how long does this have to go on before we decide to take a stand, how many more have to suffer before we make a difference?”
