BRUNSWICK

A nationwide push has had a lot of U.S. colleges and universities rethinking how they deal with reported sexual assaults. At Bowdoin College in Brunswick, a few changes have been made.

“Our most recent review has resulted in several changes to the Sexual Misconduct Policy that reflect the work of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault and the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights,” said Bowdoin College spokesman Doug Cook, in an email.

Some changes, such as “expanding the definition to include dating violence and stalking” are a direct result of federal recommendations, said Cook.

Other changes come from Bowdoin’s own review of its policies that included feedback from students.

Bowdoin College reviews its policy annually and a major revision occurred in 2011. The college updated its policy again this month and published it last week.

“Our process is in a good place,” said Cook. “I think we check in regularly with students and staff and faculty members. … We review the policy often and make changes as necessary.”

The college discloses the number of sexual assaults on campus as part of the overall report in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act of 1998. The report includes statistics for the previous three years concerning reported crimes that occurred on campus, in certain off-campus buildings or property owned or controlled by Bowdoin College, and on public property within or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus.

There were 18 total forcible sex offenses reported to have taken place on campus between 2010 and 2012, according to Bowdoin’s Clery report. Most occurred at student residences.

That’s equal to 2.28 offenses per 1,000 students, according to a list of sex offenses at U.S. college campuses compiled by The Washington Post. (Bowdoin College has a student population of 1,775, according to the school’s website.)

By comparison, Colby College in Waterville reported just three assaults during that same period, according to the Post’s compilation.

At Bates College in Lewiston, however, the number of sexual assaults had steadily risen between 2010 and 2013 for a total of 18 assaults, or 4.56 per 1,000 students.

University of New England in Biddeford, with a population of 5,666 as of 2012, reported .35 assaults per 1,000 students.

Husson College in Bangor, with 3,133 students, reported .32 assaults per 1,000 students.

Not every assault is reported, and representatives of Bowdoin College student groups said that it’s difficult to quantify how many on-campus assaults occur.

“I think it depends on how you define an assault,” said Jackie Fickes, a Bowdoin College senior, co-leader of ASAP and student director for the Women’s Resource Center. Fickes noted that student leaders are also called upon when a student believes they are made to feel unsafe through stalking, intimidation and other scenarios in addition to rape and other abuse.

One in five women is sexually assaulted while in college nationwide, according to the White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault.

“Most often, it happens her freshman or sophomore year. In the great majority of cases (75-80 percent), she knows her attacker, whether as an acquaintance, classmate, friend or (ex)boyfriend,” according to a report issued by the task force in January. “Many are survivors of what’s called ‘incapacitated assault’: they are sexually abused while drugged, drunk, passed out, or otherwise incapacitated. And although fewer and harder to gauge, college men, too, are victimized.”

Bowdoin College has several student groups dedicated to the prevention of sexual assaults and providing support to victims. Those groups include the Alliance for Sexual Assault Prevention, V-SPACE, Sage Space, and Bowdoin Men Against Sexual Violence.

V-SPACE co-leader and Bowdoin senior Sara Binkhorst said the these groups were not created in response to national headlines, having been established for years. One of the most important functions of these groups is to stimulate conversation about sexual assault.

“There’s power in numbers,” said Binkhorst, referring to the number of groups at the college dedicated to spreading awareness and prevention of sexual assaults.

“You can’t ignore it. There are ways to make the conversation happen,” said Fickes.

About 600 to 700 students are trained in consent education, and first-year students undergo “consent education.”

The college also works to educate students in leadership positions, said Cook, including resident advisers and house proctors, in addition to athletic captains and others. Bowdoin College holds training sessions led by students and staff, along with leadership training and works with student organizations and athletic teams.

“Just one example includes Active Bystander Training that equips students to respond to scenarios as active bystanders, as opposed to watching potentially dangerous behavior happen without doing anything about it,” according to Cook.

So-called bathroom lists include the names and contacts of students who have undergone 30 hours of training to work with victims.

Bowdoin senior Tim Hanley is the co-leader of BMASV. Part of his job is to facilitate discussions with men’s groups, including sports teams, about sexual violence.

Hanley said he has noticed a greater willingness on campus to have the conversation.

“I’ve noticed that people are much more open to discussing it, and more comfortable analyzing it and trying to decide what does cross a line, and how we can identify ways to keep those things from happening,” said Hanley. “We’re looking at it from a more open-minded standpoint, rather than saying ‘I don’t feel comfortable talking about it.’ A lot has changed in a short period of time.”

Hanley said his brother was a big part of why he became involved in BMASV, in light of a family friend being assaulted. Being part of the group made him think about sexual assaults differently, Hanley said.

“If people never think about what the consequences are, that’s a big thing missing in the community,” said Hanley.

The national conversation about on-campus sexual assaults goes back 20 years, when Brown University had the first definitive movement to address it, according to Benje Douglas, Bowdoin College’s director of gender violence prevention and education, hired in July.

More recently, other highprofile incidents kept campus sexual assault on the national consciousness, including accusations against Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston over an alleged December 2012 rape.

A Columbia University senior made headlines this year for dragging the mattress on which she said she was raped upon during her sophomore year everywhere, she said, until the accused student is expelled.

Those incidents have grabbed national headlines, according to Cook. However, Cook and Bowdoin students have said the conversation about sexual assault prevention has been ongoing at the college since long before those high-profile incidents.

What happens after a sexual assault is reported is generally up to the student making the report, according to Cook: “Our focus is on the health, safety and wellbeing of that student, on the safety of the broader community, and on maintaining our standards of behavior. It is in the hands of the survivor to move forward with any process (formal or otherwise).”

Cook said there are a myriad options for a victim, depending on how they want to proceed, including a formal process, informal process, anonymous report, and confidential counseling.

“The student is not on her/his own, regardless of what she/he decides. We connect the student to resources, check in often, and make sure they feel comfortable with the path they’ve chosen,” Cook wrote.

The college also advises students on their options in reporting an assault to local law enforcement, and works with law enforcement when a student is interested in making a criminal report, said Cook. “We can and do offer support as they progress through the criminal justice system.”

Those found responsible for committing a sexual assault face sanctions up to and including permanent dismissal from the college, in addition to whatever law enforcement action may take place.

“We have a very strong relationship with the Brunswick Police Department,” said Cook.

Police are notified based on a student’s wish.

Deputy Brunswick Police Chief Marc Hagan said his department has a good working relationship with his Bowdoin College counterparts.

The college does impose a number of disciplinary actions, including permanent dismissal, said Cook. However, Cook declined to state how many students in recent years were subjected to dismissal.

Dealing with a report of sexual assault is not always straightforward.

“Most people assume — erroneously — that one size fits all. You tell the cops or the college. There is no onesize fits all,” said Douglas, noting that the college will support whichever route the student chooses.