By james art MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) – UW-Madison officials said in an announcement to the campus community Monday that sexual assault was reported last week.
Authorities said it happened around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, in a dormitory on Southeast Campus.
The victim and the offender knew each other, officials said.
Authorities said the incident was not reported to the UW-Madison Police Department and police are not currently investigating.
UW-Madison employees expect community members to respect others’ boundaries. They offered the tips below to help create safe spaces (paraphrasing theirs):
- Communicate clearly and respectfully with your sexual partners about their needs, feelings and boundaries. Make sure you have consent. Consent is words or overt actions by a person who is competent to give informed consent that indicates freely given consent to engage in sexual activity or other activity specified in the definitions of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. A person cannot give consent if they are incapacitated by drugs, alcohol, physical or intellectual disability, or unconsciousness. According to state laws, a person may not be able to give consent because of age.
- Do not make assumptions about consent – it is your responsibility to obtain clear and freely given consent before proceeding with sexual activity. Make sure that any potential sexual partner is able to make an informed decision about sex. Taking advantage of someone who is incapacitated by alcohol or drugs is abuse.
- If you have been sexually assaulted, you deserve support. Confidential resources are available to help you.
- Be active in supporting a safe and respectful community. If you see others engaging in disrespectful or inappropriate actions, speak up and get involved or reach out to someone else for help. Be prepared to have difficult conversations with people you know if they are violating others’ sexual boundaries.
- If you witness a situation that you believe may lead to sexual assault, contact the participants directly to see if they are okay; create a diversion or get support from others to intervene.
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