Barack Obama sets up anti-rape force

Washington: US President Barack Obama has created a task force to combat physical assaults, particularly on college campuses, saying sexual violence is more than just a crime against individuals as it ultimately threatens the entire country.

A White House report said that nearly 22 million women, about one in five,  have been raped in their lifetimes in the US, with nearly half of the victims subjected to sexual assa-ult before the age of 18.

The report said 33.5 per cent of multiracial wom-en have been raped, as have 27 per cent of American-Indian and Alaska Native women, compared to 15 per cent of Hispanic, 22 per cent of Black, and 19 per cent of White women.

“We are going to work with colleges and universities and educational institutions of all kinds across America to help them come up with better ways to prevent and respond to sexual assault on their campuses,” Obama said at a cabinet-level meeting wherein he announced the creation of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.

“Then we’ll help them put those ideas into practice, because our schools need to be places where our young people feel secure as they prepare to go as far as their God-given talents can carry them,” he said.