One in four women will be sexually assaulted before they graduate college—if they graduate.

This alarming statistic reflects a tradition of sexual violence on university campuses nationwide. This number also represents student prey in college hunting grounds. My story, “I am the 1 in 4”: An Urgent Call to Stop Sexual Violence on College Campuses, sheds light on the stark reality of sexual assault in academia and the actual lives impacted by violence on campus.

Two months after my 18th birthday, I moved away from home and into my freshman dormitory at Northern Kentucky University. Not long after classes started, I was tricked, trapped, and assaulted by a fellow freshman student. After suffering in silence for nearly a year, I sought justice in the form of a Title IX claim through my university. Despite a unanimous Title IX decision in my favor, the recommended punishment for my attacker, called ‘Student M’, were sanctions like a written paper about ‘what he learned about the experience’. After years of the university failing to enforce Student M’s sanctions, I carried a mattress on my back in a desperate plea for help. After holding a student-led protest on NKU’s campus, I eventually sought legal representation. With the expertise and support of Kevin Murphy, my attorney, I was not only victorious in my case, Jane Doe v. Northern Kentucky University, but also able to hold my university accountable in more ways than one. I share my story to explore how Title IX claims are handled by universities and to close the gap between what could happen and what does happen to young adults at university—the majority of which are recent high school graduates away from home for the first time.

In “I am the 1 in 4”, federal case evidence reveals the shocking, untold story of Jane Doe v. NKU and captures a painful snapshot of fighting the system through the eyes of an undergraduate student and her seasoned attorney. From internal investigations and on-campus protests to shocking facts and expert testimony, Kevin Murphy, my attorney, and myself (also known as “Jane Doe”) tell a powerful story about resilience and reckoning to prevent sexual violence on college campuses and protect students from campus sexual assault.

A memoir told from the perspective of the survivor and her attorney, “I am the 1 in 4” aims to empower and educate students, parents, and administrators alike to challenge and change the culture of violence on college campuses.