Want to prevent sexual assault? Focus on middle-schoolers

Middle-schoolers, grappling with new developmental social and physical realities, are most likely to be the primary victims – and perpetrators – of sexual harassment by peers. — AP

“ONE in five women (in the United States) will experience completed or attempted rape during their lifetime.”

If this Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistic sounds familiar, it’s because it has not changed in the several decades since data collection began. Prevention efforts have not coaxed the numbers down and, as high as that figure remains, researchers believe it represents a fraction of the country’s sexual assault problem: An estimated 80% of sexual assaults go unreported.