Saskatchewan students react to on-campus sex assault stats

A CBC News exclusive report has looked at the number of sexual assaults on Canadian campuses.

• Sex assault reporting on Canadian campuses worryingly low, say experts

In Saskatchewan, the University of Regina, University of Saskatchewan and Saskatchewan Polytechnic Institute provided the following data to CBC:

• U of S had 10 reported sexual assaults from 2009 to 2013.
• U ofR had 6 reported sexual assaults during the same time period.
• Saskatchewan Polytechnic didn't have a reported case of sexual assault during that same time.

Considering the schools' relative populations, University of Regina andUniversity of Saskatchewan had a little more than 1 reported case per 10 thousand students. That places them as28th and 29th out of 62 schools involved in the study.

Don't believe the numbers, says women's centre director

However, when it comes to sexual assault and statistics, the executive director of the University of Regina's Women's Centre Jill Arnottsays the numbers can be untrustworthy.

"We know hands down across the board when violence against women is concerned that any sort of statistics that we have don't accurately represent the reality," Jill Arnott said.

Arnott says the system doesn't provide enough support forvictims and that's one of many reasons she believes many sexual assaults go unreported.

"The onus is always on the victim to prove that it happened to prove that the victimization and trauma is real. And so that is not a climate that makes it a very positive experience of somebody who's already dealing with the trauma of what happened," she said.

Students at University of Regina react

The students at U of R seem to agree with Arnott.

"If you turn a blind eye to it it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Some people are too scared to step up. That doesn't mean it doesn't happen though," saidAnna Schneider.

"It's quite likely that the number is higher and it's unfortunate that people aren't able to come forward," added another student, AaronFritzler.

Male athletes 'Man Up' to condemn violence against women

This year the male athletes at University of Regina'scampus took part in the Man Up initiative. It's an effort to condemn violence against women.

StudentMarynaMoskalenko says she believes it's a good sign that she hasn't met any women on campus who have told her they have been a victim of violence. She believes it's a safe place to go to school, and that men take the issue seriously, too.

Arnott says it's those kinds of things that need to keep sexual assault on people's minds.

"Really make sure that we're speaking loudly about this and that it's out there that we don't forget and we don't let it drop off the radar."