The “Red Zone” is a period of time that lasts from the start of the fall semester through Thanksgiving break when the majority of sexual assault occurs on college campuses. This post explains why that is, and what we can do about it.
Q: What is the Red Zone?
A: It’s a six-to-10-week time frame when many students are going to parties, gatherings, and other social events to celebrate their return to campus. Data (see Reference section below) shows that over 50% of sexual assaults that occur on college campuses occur during this time.
New students can be especially vulnerable during this period, due to their unfamiliarity with the campus, new social experiences, and the resources available to survivors. It is never a person’s fault if they experience sexual violence. It is the fault of the person who exploited vulnerabilities for their own gratification and to cause harm.
Q: How does alcohol affect the Red Zone?
A: Alcohol is the tool that is most commonly used by perpetrators in cases of sexual assault. Because of an increase in social gatherings and parties during this time, there is the potential for increased use of drugs and alcohol.
Though there is a relationship between alcohol and sexual assault, it is imperative to make clear that sexual assault is never the fault of the survivor. No matter if a person was using drugs or alcohol, if they had had sex with the perpetrator before, what they were wearing, how they were dancing, or anything else, the survivor is not at fault.
Sexual violence is always, 100% of the time, the fault of the person who chose to interact with another’s body without that person’s express consent.
A person who is incapacitated by drugs or alcohol is not able to consent. Both Maryland law and Johns Hopkins policy reflect this. Perpetrators of sexual violence often push a person to become incapacitated or target a person who is incapacitated, because that person is less likely to resist any force or coercion applied by the perpetrator. Perpetrators may use drugs or alcohol themselves to lower their own inhibitions, making it easier for them to engage in disinhibited or aggressive acts. Perpetrators also rely on blame being shifted from them to the survivor when alcohol is involved.
Again, it is always the fault of the person who chose to interact with another’s body without express permission. No other crime is excused if the victim, perpetrator, or both were under the influence of drugs or alcohol; it should be the same in cases of sexual violence.
Per the Johns Hopkins report on the 2019 AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct, the majority of both perpetrators (67.0%) and survivors (69.8%) of sexual violence were using alcohol at the time of the violence.
Q: What is consent?
A: Consent is uncoerced permission to interact with the body (or life) of another person. Consent is the presence of a yes rather than an absence of a no. It is informed, and freely and actively given for each specific act. It can be revoked at any time. Consent is agreed upon, wanted, and ethical. Consent is mandatory in all sexual and intimate acts.
To learn more about consent, check out the JHU Consent Campaign.
Q: What does the Office of Health Promotion and Well-Being (HPWB) do to address gender-based violence at JHU, including the Red Zone?
A: HPWB hosts an array of educational and prevention programming throughout the year, including specialized programing during the Red Zone weeks. The universitywide Consent Campaign teaches students how to center autonomy, joy, and pleasure of all those involved in their intimate situations (including sexual and non-sexual intimacies).
The Gender-Based Violence Prevention (GBVP) Team is a confidential resource for students who have experienced gender-based harm, like sexual violence, abusive relationships, stalking, and sexual harassment. Read this blog post to learn more about what it’s like to meet with a member of the GBVP team.
In addition to individual meetings, the team also offers a menu of trainings that students and trainees can request for their groups on topics like consent, healthy relationships, and bystander skill building. Most of these are customizable to scenarios specific to individual student groups and communities.
HPWB also manages the required Bystander Intervention Training program that all new undergraduate students must take.
Q: What can I do to help reduce the incidence of sexual assault on campus, both during the Red Zone and at any time of year?
A:There are lots of things you can do. Some examples include:
Q: How can bystander intervention skills impact the Red Zone?
A: All members of a community have opportunities to intervene upon and interrupt the behaviors that contribute to any harm that occurs in those communities.
We have the opportunity to intervene in three places in time:
There are four ways we can intervene in these three places in time. They are referred to as the 4Ds of intervention: Distract, Direct, Delegate, and Delay.
Q: How can I support survivors of sexual violence?
A: There are lots of ways to support survivors. Here are a few important ones:
There are two types of resources available to those who have experienced GBV: confidential and non-confidential.
While privacy is always at the center of the work of all Hopkins staff, those staff who are confidential are able hold on to the details you share (who, what, where, when) and provide help and support without the requirement of any involvement by the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE).
Title IX guidelines changed on August 1, 2024. To learn more about those specifics, read this article from the Hub, the university’s news site.
Those who are non-confidential are required to share some information with OIE and can also provide support. If you are uncertain if a staff member is confidential or not, we invite you to ask them and also consult this list. If faculty and staff are not listed here, they are non-confidential.
Editor’s note: former SHWB interns Quinn Kenny and Nicole Brim were substantial contributors to this article.