As both a survivor and a university professor, I know all too well the prevalence and lasting impact of sexual violence on college campuses.  

I was sexually assaulted on my university campus after attending a fraternity party. That experience changed far more than one night or one semester. It changed the way I experienced college, the way I understood safety and trust, and ultimately, the trajectory of my life. Like so many survivors, what happened to me did not stay confined to the place or moment where the violence occurred. 

Years later, I now stand on the other side of the classroom. I teach college students, many of whom are the same age I was when I was assaulted. I know statistically that there are survivors sitting in our classrooms, walking across our campuses, living in residence halls, and attending the same kinds of parties and social events that are supposed to be a normal part of the college experience. 

And the research reinforces what survivors, advocates, educators, and loved ones already know: sexual violence among college-aged people is alarmingly common. 

• Women ages 18–24 experience rape and sexual assault at approximately three times the rate of women in other age groups. ¹ 

• Male college students ages 18–24 are significantly more likely than non-students of the same age to experience rape or sexual assault. ² 

• An estimated 80% of student survivors do not report their assault to law enforcement. ² 

• Only about 20% of student survivors receive victim services. ³ 

What Is the “Red Zone”? 

The Red Zone refers to the period at the beginning of the academic year—generally from the start of the fall semester through Thanksgiving—when college students, particularly first-year students, may face an increased risk of sexual violence. 

It coincides with one of the biggest transitions many young adults have experienced. Students arrive on campus and suddenly find themselves navigating new independence, new relationships, unfamiliar environments, new social expectations, and new responsibilities, often while separated from established support systems. 

For many students, these experiences are exciting and developmentally normal. They are part of learning how to live independently and building a life outside of home. They can also create circumstances that people willing to cause harm may deliberately exploit. 

Why Does Risk Increase During the Red Zone? 

The beginning of college brings together several significant transitions at once. 

• Increased independence. Students may move rapidly from highly structured home and school environments to significantly greater autonomy. They are making decisions about where they go, who they spend time with, and how they socialize with far less oversight than they may have experienced before. 

• New and unfamiliar social networks. Many students arrive on campus knowing very few people. They are building friendships, dating, joining organizations, and trying to establish a sense of belonging. They may not yet know whom they can trust or who will intervene when something feels wrong. 

• Changes in social environments. Parties, residence halls, fraternity and sorority events, bars, off-campus housing, and other gatherings can become central spaces for meeting people and forming relationships. Alcohol and other substances may also be more accessible or more heavily incorporated into social life. 

• Pressure to belong. Students are navigating unfamiliar social expectations at the same time they are trying to make friends and find community. Saying no, leaving a situation, challenging a peer, or asking for help can feel socially complicated—particularly when someone is still trying to establish their place within a group. 

None of these factors cause sexual assault. Alcohol does not cause sexual assault. Parties do not cause sexual assault. Clothing does not cause sexual assault. Living in a residence hall does not cause sexual assault. Being inexperienced does not cause sexual assault. People who choose to exploit vulnerability and violate another person’s consent cause sexual assault. 

That distinction matters. When we talk about the Red Zone, the goal should never be to create a checklist of behaviors students must avoid in order to keep themselves from being assaulted. Instead, understanding the Red Zone allows campuses and communities to recognize periods of heightened vulnerability and ask a much more useful question: how do we create environments in which vulnerability is harder to exploit? 

Changing the Questions We Ask Survivors 

After sexual assault, survivors are still routinely confronted with questions such as: 

• What were you wearing? 

• Were you drinking? How much? 

• Why did you go to that party? 

• Why did you leave with them? 

• Why didn’t you know better? 

• Why didn’t you tell someone? 

• What will you do differently next time? 

These questions may be framed as attempts to understand what happened, but they can subtly shift responsibility away from the person who caused harm and onto the person who experienced it. 

We should be normalizing something much simpler: college students should be allowed to be college students. 

• They should be able to go to parties. 

• They should be able to wear what they want. 

• They should be able to drink too much. 

• They should be able to flirt with someone. 

• They should be able to kiss someone and decide they do not want to go any further. 

• They should be able to change their mind. 

• They should be able to trust someone who ultimately turns out not to be trustworthy. 

• They should be able to need help getting home. 

• They should even be able to make choices they later regret. 

None of those choices grants another person permission to sexually assault them. 

Prevention cannot simply mean teaching potential victims how to avoid danger. It must also mean teaching consent, challenging peer cultures that normalize coercion, creating meaningful bystander intervention, holding people who cause harm accountable, and ensuring survivors know that asking for help will not result in judgment or blame. 

The Impact Doesn’t End With the Assault 

Campus sexual violence can fundamentally alter a survivor’s relationship with education. 

A residence hall may no longer feel like home. A classroom may include the person who harmed them. Walking across campus may mean passing the place where the assault occurred. A fraternity house, dining hall, library, or social event can become a trauma reminder. Mutual friends may force survivors to repeatedly navigate questions about disclosure, loyalty, and safety. 

For some survivors, remaining enrolled may become extraordinarily difficult. Sexual violence can contribute to academic disruption, missed classes, declining performance, leaves of absence, transfers, or leaving school altogether. 

That matters because education itself can be a powerful protective factor. College can provide community, structure, opportunity, financial independence, professional development, and pathways toward long-term stability. When sexual violence disrupts a survivor’s education, the consequences can extend far beyond a single semester. 

Our response, then, cannot end with telling survivors where they can file a report. 

A meaningful campus response asks: What does this student need in order to remain safe, supported, connected, and able to continue their education on their own terms? That might mean confidential advocacy, academic accommodations, safety planning, housing changes, medical care, counseling, assistance navigating reporting options, or simply having someone believe them and help them understand what choices are available. 

What Can We Do? 

Addressing the Red Zone requires a community response. We can educate students about consent without placing the burden of prevention on potential victims. We can teach students how to recognize concerning behavior among their peers and safely intervene. We can challenge jokes, comments, and social norms that minimize sexual violence or normalize coercion. We can ensure faculty and staff know how to respond appropriately when a student discloses. We can make confidential resources visible and accessible before a crisis occurs. 

And perhaps most importantly, when someone tells us they have been sexually assaulted, we can resist the urge to investigate their choices. 

Instead of asking, “why did you…?”, we can start with: 

• “I believe you.” 

• “I’m sorry this happened.” 

• “What do you need?” 

• “What would feel helpful right now?” 

The Red Zone should not be treated as an inevitable part of the college experience. Sexual violence is not a rite of passage and vulnerability is not an invitation for exploitation. 

Students deserve the freedom to learn, explore, make friends, attend parties, build relationships, make mistakes, and discover who they are without having their ordinary college experiences used to explain away someone else’s decision to harm them. 

Local Campus Resources 

• The Phoenix Center at Auraria (PCA) — Serving students, staff, and faculty at the University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver, and Metropolitan State University Denver. The PCA provides free and confidential support for survivors of sexual violence, relationship violence, and stalking, including academic advocacy, safety planning, emotional support, court accompaniment, and assistance navigating campus or law-enforcement reporting when requested by the survivor. 

• Center for Advocacy, Prevention & Empowerment (CAPE) — University of Denver — CAPE provides free and confidential advocacy to DU students, staff, and faculty impacted by sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking, and sexual harassment. Support is also available to friends, family members, partners, colleagues, and other secondary survivors. 

• Victim Advocacy and Violence Prevention (VAVP) — Regis University — VAVP provides confidential advocacy and supportive services to survivors of sexual assault, intimate partner violence, stalking, sexual harassment, and gender-based harassment. 

If you or someone you know has experienced sexual violence, you do not have to decide immediately whether to report, pursue an investigation, or take any particular course of action. Confidential advocates at the Rose Andom Center can also help survivors understand their options and decide what feels right for them.