Steve Jobs iPhone Memorial In The State University Of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics Yard
A man walks past a recently erected iPhone-shaped monument in memory of Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs in the yard of the State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics in St. Petersburg January 10, 2013. The 188cm (74 inch) -tall interactive glass and metal sculpture, designed by Gleb Tarasov, is a wifi hotspot and can withstand temperatures down to minus 30 degrees Celsius (minus 22 degrees Fahrenheit), according to local media. Reuters/Alexander Demianchuk

Despite the prevalence of sexual assaults in Canadian campuses, their reporting have been muted or the victims are not being encouraged to speak out to the authorities in the campus. This was the finding of a recent survey by a media organisation, which conducted its research on major universities and colleges across Canada.

The manifestations of campus based sex assaults in Canada are out in the open, ranging from the pro-rape chants at St. Mary's University in Halifax and objectionable Facebook posts by a section of dentistry students at Dalhousie University.

The paradox of suppressing the actual number of assault cases has also been highlighted by CBC News, which undertook a survey focusing 87 university and major colleges across Canada after requesting them to share the number of sexual assaults reported on each campus between 2009 and 2013. The details of the report with the respective break up of sex assault cases have also been published by the news paper.

Five Year Stats

During the five-year period mentioned above, a big number of sexual assaults were reported at Ryerson University in Toronto than any other university or college in Canada, according to the survey. Ryerson University in downtown Toronto had 57 reported cases of assaults. In 2013, Ryerson had a full-time student population of almost 24,000. The Acadia University in Wolfville had 22 reports of sexual assault over five years. When adjusted for population, it has the highest rate of reporting in the country.

"As a parent or a prospective student I might want to say, what are you doing about sexual assault? What are you doing about prevention? What is your policy?’" asked Charlene Senn, a professor at the University of Windsor who studies violence against women on university campuses.

Below National Average

Overall, the trend shows reporting sexual assault to universities and colleges is well below national averages. "At a certain point we noticed there was something strange, which was that the rates of sexual assaults on the campuses were considerably lower than the rates of assaults for the surrounding cities," commented Jeffrey Rosenthal, professor at the University of Toronto who studied the data collected by CBC News.

The recent survey at University of Ottawa further reinforced that conclusion. The stark variance between the reported cases and actual number of sexual assaults had been appalling. It showed 44 percent of female students having experienced some form of sexual violence or unwanted sexual touching while attending the university. But, only 10 students reported any case of assault to the University authorities. The investigation also found that Mount Allison University as having the second highest rate of sexual assault cases over a five-year period, reports CBC News.

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