When a crime is reported, numerous questions arise. What happened? Where were you? Are you OK? But victims of sexual assault often are met with a different question — are you sure?

In situations involving alcohol, the credibility of the victim often is brought into question, said Steve Thompson, an expert on sexual assault and aggression at Central Michigan University.

With the party lifestyle and hook-up culture that many young people — especially on and around college campuses — have adopted, it has become easier to discredit victims and write off a sexual assault as a lapse in judgement. Thompson said the hook-up culture has desensitized many people to the realities of sexual assault and caused a debate about how to draw the line between flirtation and unwarranted aggression.

But for Thompson, the line is clear.

“(The drinking culture has) blurred the line for the legal community, but for me, it’s not blurry at all,” he said. “Good men do not rape. Good men and women do not get another person drunk just so they can ‘get laid.’”

Thompson said there is a substantial difference between “regret sex” and sexual assault, and although that difference might not be apparent to many outsiders, the trauma is very distinct.

MSU Safe Place Director Holly Rosen helps survivors of sexual abuse and assault deal with that trauma both mentally and emotionally, especially with victims who come from an abusive relationship.

For some victims, it is difficult to come to terms with the fact that they’ve been sexually assaulted, and part of that stems from the societal perception of alcohol-related assaults — causing victims to blame themselves.

“Drinking does not cause someone to sexually assault or be sexually assaulted,” Rosen said. “The focus often is on the victim and on the women and how to prevent sexual assault, but men need to be more aware. Some sexual assaults are a result of not getting consent and being clueless, but many sexual assaults are actually forced.”

Political theory and constitutional democracy senior Annie Norris and comparative cultures and politics senior Chelsea Yondo conducted a study about sexual assault on college campus last spring, and they looked at the way culturally ascribed gender traits play a role.

Norris and Yondo said girls are taught from a young age to be passive while boys are encouraged to be more aggressive, and the combination of these two traits can be volatile in sexually abusive situations.

“With the prescribed gender roles for little boys and little girls, it’s part of our system of patriarchy,” Norris said. “Also, there are misconceptions about rapists. … Really, it’s someone who chooses to sexually assault and operates under the system of power and control.”

These stereotypes about sexual assault are nothing new. From 16th century feudal lords to the works of Sigmund Freud, women have been undermined in matters of sexual abuse for generations, Thompson said.

Thompson said in many aspects, society’s perception of sexual assault and the issues it involves have not changed.

“(During) the last 10 or 20 years, I would like to say it’s gotten better, but it hasn’t,” he said. “The number of sexual assaults are probably up, although the number of reported incidents has not increased. That’s because many survivors do not come forward.”

But Rosen said there is no recommended route to recovery from sexual assault, that is something each victim has to find on their own. But it is not a journey they have to go through alone.

MSU Safe Place is one of the numerous counseling centers on campus, and although they focus more on victims of domestic violence and stalking, they provide services to anyone who feels threatened, unsafe or just unsure.

“For counseling, it’s whatever the victim wants,” Rosen said. “Dealing with relationship abuse or stalking, it’s usually about safety plans, discussing options and discussing how it’s affected them, whether it’s affected their grades or their social life. All of our counseling is free and confidential.”