Lori Foley columnist

I saw a movie recently that ended in a huge explosion. In case you're planning to see it, I won't give away too much about the movie itself, other than that it was intensely boring and long and starred a pudgy George Clooney. But I will say that the final explosion was one of the most disturbing I've ever seen in a movie.

What was so unsettling about it was that the blast was totally silent - it was just an awful, destructive act, carried out noiselessly. The silence afterward magnified the horror of what had happened.

Incomprehensibly, that same silence is a hallmark of the aftermath of sexual assault. According to a study recently released by the Department of Justice, sexual assault is widely considered to be the most underreported violent crime in the U.S. Statistics compiled by the California Center Against Sexual Assault reveal that only 16 percent of rapes in the U.S. are ever reported to the police. Data suggests that the rates of report for other types of sexual assault are even lower.

As reported in Friday's Arizona Daily Wildcat, living on a university campus increases the likelihood of assault. The Department of Justice study suggests that one in every five female students will experience rape - either attempted or completed - during a collegiate career. Yet victims remain silent.

The fact that 90 percent of sexual assault is perpetrated by someone known to the victim makes the fact that it is rarely reported more understandable, but no less tragic. When perpetrators know that it is unlikely they will ever be held accountable for their actions, sexual crimes become a game of Russian roulette - though the negative consequences could be huge, they are also unlikely. The low rate of report creates a vicious cycle: Because the victims remain silent, the silence stigmatizes those affected by these crimes, so the silence continues.

How can we change this? The OASIS Program for Sexual Assualt and Relationship Violence on campus and the Southern Arizona Center Against Sexual Assault both combat the awful reality of sexual assault. Tina Tarin, a violence prevention specialist with OASIS, recommended that these programs be the first place a victim turns after assault. She emphasizes the fact that both organizations are confidential and that "it's always helpful to talk to someone who can present (a victim of assault) with all of the options that they have. That way the person is better equipped to make a decision."

Though these programs and the committed individuals who run them do a tremendous amount, the high incidence of sexual assault on university campuses and the silence that shrouds it will never be ended solely institutionally.

We each play a role in preventing assault and in responding to victims. We absolutely must stand with those who are willing to report crimes to the police. But even more than that, we need to support the victims of this type of crime in any way we can, and that means knowing what steps to take in the aftermath of an attack.

Recent data indicates that almost half of rape victims never tell anyone - not a friend, not a parent, not a counselor or the police. They shoulder the burden in silence. We need to be there, even if it's just to listen. And as we listen, we need to know what resources are available, so we can point those we love in the right direction.

I spoke with Kristan Leech, a physiology junior, about the response of a friend to being sexually assaulted. The victim never reported the crime to the police and never used any of the campus resources designed to provide help and counseling. When I asked why the woman hadn't used these services, Leech explained that, "at the time of the attack, she probably just didn't know what resources were available to her." And neither did her friends.

We don't have a choice here. We must become a supportive community in which victims aren't forced into silence. This isn't just an issue for those who have been assaulted or just for women. This is something we've got to fight against together - it's the only way we can possibly succeed.

Lori Foley is a senior majoring in French and English. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu