the gender gap in campus safety: a feminist take

Campus safety is a huge concern for students all across the country. However, when we look closer it is clear that safety concerns doesn’t affect everyone equally at all. Women and marginalized groups often face risks and different challenges that aren’t always addressed by campus policies. Walking alone at night and dealing with types of harassment are terrifying for a female and not noticed enough. For many women like myself walking across campus when its dark out always gives me the creeps. According to data I had found from the Association of American Universities 26% of women in college experience sexual assault or some type of misconduct and this compares to just 6.8% of men. This emphasizes how women are way more at risk than men. Many college campuses try to address safety concerns through programs like self defense workshops which I had actually attended at UREC freshmen year. While these sort of things can be helpful it makes me very skeptical that we should be even taking classes like these in the first place. I believe that this approach reflects a bigger issue where women are expected to adapt to an unsafe environment instead of holding people accountable to make a change. Women face so many different issues and it seems that it is never a big deal to anyone. Catcalling, assault, inappropriate comments, and even abuse online creates a horrible environment for a woman and something needs to be fixed. Campuses often fail to address any problems like this and many of them end up suspending a student who is involved with doing this but then nothing is done after the fact. Once the student is gone colleges need to make change instead of trying to brush it under the door and ignoring it. I also believe as a feminist like myself colleges can provide some sort of class that can teach students about consent so they know exactly what it means. The gender gap in campus safety also isn’t just about physical risks but also about the detrimental mental health risks that so many women can face from these issues. Constantly being on guard is exhausting and I think everyone should be able to feel completely safe walking around their own college campus. Men often don’t experience this same level of concern. They can most of the time just walk freely without constantly checking their surroundings or worrying about how their clothing might attract unwanted attention. In my relationship even if I am walking around at night with my boyfriend and I am constantly looking around just because I am so used to always doing it. I had noticed that my boyfriend never really keeps an eye out for anything that could be scary and most of the time is always walking freely without a worry in the world. There are a bunch of other things I believe could be done to make a woman feel safe on her campus. For starters I believe colleges should create reporting systems where people feel comfortable reporting any incident that had made them feel uneasy and scared. Another thing I think colleges should do would be to revaluate the campus lighting and security. I think there should be better lighting all around campuses and more security should be present so that women can feel safer walking at night. The gender gap in campus safety is a reflection of bigger inequalities but it doesn’t have to be this way. We should take a stand and spread a bunch of ideas so women don’t have to feel a certain way when talking alone. College should be a place where everyone feels safe to learn, grow, and thrive. It shouldn’t be a place of fear and inequality. It is time for campuses to take safety seriously and finally create an environment where everyone can feel secure.