SARU addresses recent sexual assaults
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According to statistics published by the Department of Education, Hopkins had one forcible sexual offense in 2005 and none in 2006 and 2007. This data does not reflect all instances of sexual assault reported to campus officials, however. Dorothy Sheppard, the associate dean of Student Life said that this year she has dealt with three instances of sexual assault, and one of them was brought before the conduct board.
In discussions after the panel, Sheppard said that the number of cases of sexual assault that she sees every year at Hopkins are typically around two to four. However, Clare King, a consultant for SARU who also works in the Hopkins Counseling Center, said that in the past year there had been an increase; five instances of sexual assault had come to her attention through the counseling center and SARU.
According to a survey by the National Institute of Justice, the Department of Justice's research agency, 15.5 percent of female college students experience some form of sexual victimization each year. This includes the use of either physical or non-physical force and threats of sexual assault.
Monday's panel discussion, called Hopkins: SVU, included representatives from the Baltimore Police Department and the director of Mercy Hospital's SAFE program, as well as members of University staff - Sheppard, King and Alain Joffe, director of the Student Health and Wellness Center. Senior Lauren Drake, who was a victim of sexual assault also participated in the panel relating her experiences.
According to Steve Ossmus, an investigator and spokesperson for Campus Safety and Security, the Office of Student Life prepares an anonymous list of sexual assaults that have occurred to Hopkins students, specifying the location and nature of the assault. This list is then forwarded to the Campus Safety and Security office, which uses this information to prepare statistics on criminal offenses at Hopkins following the guidelines of the Jeanne Clery Act.
Ossmus was not available to comment at press time on what events the University reports under these guidelines.
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