Exposure and Outcome
Rape can ruin lives. The sexually violent act is associated with a long list of public health concerns, including disease, unwanted pregnancy, physical trauma, mental and emotional suffering, and death. While rape can be simply defined as sex without consent, the impact rape has on society is complex. Victims are often stigmatized. They feel ashamed, weak and at fault. An estimated 18 percent of women in the US reported being raped at least once in their lifetimes, according to a 2007 study cited by the Center for Research on Violence Against Women. For college women, the numbers are slightly higher: 1 out of 5 women report being raped during their college years (as cited in Lawyer, Resnick, Von Bakanic, Burkett, Kilpatrick, 2010, p. 453). To better contextualize those numbers let’s look at SF State. A little more than 17,000 women went to school here in 2013, according to the demographics listed on the SF State website. If we were to follow those women over the entire span of their college years, we can assume that 2,400 of them would get raped. These are alarming statistics, especially since we know that rape is widely underreported, suggesting the percentages of rape might be even higher. College students drink more alcohol than the normal public (as cited in Gunby, Carline, Beynon, 2012, p. 88). This is troubling for women because alcohol is known to increase the risk of victimization. In most alcohol-involved rape situations, women voluntarily drank large amounts alcohol before being raped. It is more common for college women to be raped after being incapacitated by alcohol than it is for them to be raped by force (as cited in Messman-Moore, Ward, DeNard, 2013, p. 50). Alcohol intoxication often affects ...
... middle of paper ...
...m accurately reading consent-relevant cues.
References:
Messman-Moore, L. T, Ward, M. R., & DeNArd, A. K. (2013). The impact of sexual alcohol expectancies and risky behavior on alcohol-involved rape among college women. Violence against women, 19(4), 449.
Crawford, E., O’Dougherty, W., & Birchmeier, Z. (2008). Drug-facilitated sexual assault: College women’s risk perception and behavioral choices. Journal of American College Health, 57(3). 261.
Lawyer, S., Resnick, H., Bakanic, V., Burkett, T., & Kilpatrick, D. (2010). Forcible, drug-facilitated, and incapacitated rape and sexual assault among undergraduate women. Journal of American College Health, 58(5). 453.
Gunby, C., Carline, A., & Beynon, C. (2013). Regretting it after? Focus group perspective on alcohol consumption, nonconsensual sex and false allegations of rape. Social & Legal Studies 22(1). 87.
About 25% of females will encounter a pursued rape or will be raped during her college experience and
Performing rape accidentally, or knowingly I do agree with Yoffe’s statement “Let’s be totally clear: Perpetrators are the ones responsible for committing their crimes.” In Yoffe’s article she covers both the perpetrator as well as the victim, though spending more time on the latter. I feel that perhaps an understanding of whether it really is a majority rule, where rapists are surveying the streets preying on unsuspecting women. According to Amanda Hess’s Article “To prevent Rape on College Campuses, Focus on the Rapist, Not the Victim”, rapist drink, so they can find their next victim! After all wherever one person can get drunk another can join in as well.
“College life is an important social domain that provides lifelong experiences and memories for millions of students each year. As these results show, part of this experience involves college women experiencing forcible rape and/or alcohol-or-drug-induced rape” (Fisher, Daigle, & Cullen, 2010, p. 83).
When it comes to sexual assault on college campuses there is also the question of what can colleges do to decrease the amount of sexual assaults. Bradford Richardson and Jon A Shields wondered the same thing, so they conducted an ...
“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn’t move” (Henneberger, 2012). These are words written by a college freshman after she had been raped, but they are true for many others as well. According to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties, “every two minutes someone in the US is sexually assaulted” (Get the Facts). “Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the than the general population to be victims of sexual assault” (Get the Facts). These women may be described as slut, cheap, or ready for action, rather than victim, sufferer, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these demeaning terms for women and conceal the reality of rape culture. I will describe the pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses as well as the systems and procedures in place to address it. Power plays a role in this issue, including the powerful men on campus such as athletes and fraternity members as well as the administrators in power who regulate the punishments and actions that are taken against the perpetrators. The influence of those in power often goes overlooked in our society because it has become so intertwined with our culture.
There are many problems rapes could cause besides the ones highlighted already. 35% of men report significant short-term or long-term impacts such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A few more would include anxiety, depression, fearfulness, or post-traumatic stress disorder. The thoughts of future occurrences would consume their thoughts as the use excessive precaution that could have a little effect would be taken. The Withdrawal from relationships or friendships and an increased sense of isolation as well as avoiding people or places that are related to the assault or abuse. Despite being the least disclosed crime, it cost the U.S annually more than any other crime.
With one in five college students experiencing sexual assault during their college career who wouldn’t be afraid? This remains especially true for young women between the ages of 18-24 (“The Realities of Sexual Assault”). While a woman’s freshman and sophomore year of college are when she is at a most risk for assault, it can happen at any time. According to Robin Gray in the article on sexual assault statistics, “between 20% and 25% of women will experience a completed and/or attempted rape during their college career,” (Gray). At Northwest Missouri State University for the 2016-2017 academic year there are 5,618 undergraduate students enrolled. With the ratio of male to female students being 44% to 56%, there are about 3,147 female students. In terms of the statistics estimated by Gray, 630-787 of the female student population at Northwest Missouri State will experience rape during their college career (“Northwest Missouri State University”). This is a disturbingly large figure. Women are not the only ones susceptible to these acts, but men are too. It is said about “10%” of all sexual assault cases involve male victims (“The Realities of Sexual Assault”). While this number is slightly lower for men it is often believed that male victims of sexual assault do not often report their crime due to the social stigma surrounding their assault. Men may feel
Rape is the most common violent crime on American college campuses. A numerous amount of issues dealing with sexual assaults has been caused by unsafe environments on college campuses. Over the past years there has been a
Vladutiu, Catherine J., Sandra L. Martin, and Rebecca J. Macy. "College- or University- Based Sexual Assault Prevention Programs: A Review of Program Outcomes, Characteristics, and Recommendations." Trauma, Violence, & Abuse. SAGE, n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2013. .
In "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture" Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade analyze the social perspective of the gendered relations in male fraternities that add to the high rate of violence against women on many college campuses. They list a host of factors that distinguish higher-risk from lower-risk atmospheres discussing the rates of rape in colleges and state how "1 out of 4 college women say they were raped or experienced an attempted rape" (217). Additionally, "1 out of 12 college men say they forced a woman to have sexual intercourse against her will" (Boswell, Spade 217). In other words Boswell and Spade indicated that the rates were high when it came down to women getting raped in colleges by men who also attended those colleges. In addition, Boswell and Spade specify in how most people are aware of rape but know very little about rape culture (Boswell, Spade 217).
Victims of rape are almost always asked if they were flirting, drinking, or dressing in a manner that may have been interpreted as giving consent, despite whether they did actually give consent or not.
College campuses are one of the most popular scenes for crimes of rape to occur. A disturbing statistic resea...
A survey from the Association of American Universities of 150,000 students found that more than one in four women experience sexual assault during their four years in college. Over the four year college period, 27.2% of female students are victims of unwanted sexual contact that ranges from touching to rape (6). Sexual assault is far too common and it is an epidemic that faces many students in college. Many students suffer from the consequences of sexual assault, which is a result of many social and cultural deficiencies, but it can be fixed through a multifaceted approach. The problem of sexual assault can be fixed through the education of the community, a positive and helpful school environment, and classes focused on prevention.
Date rape is an ongoing issue, happening mostly in college. Statistics show “a sizeable proportion of undergraduate women have experienced sexual assault when they were incapacitated and unable to provide consent” (Opposing Viewpoints). Being given a drug without knowing is not uncommon, and many women in a study reported being given a drug without consent, or even knowledge of it. There is a study showing the incidence of experiencing sexual assault is higher since entering college, than before entering college (Opposing Viewpoints). It was discovered that seniors in college have been victims of incapacitated sexual assault since entering college.
In 1983-1984 Diana Russell did a study of community women in San Francisco that revealed that 24% of women had experienced a completed rape and 44% had experienced a completed or attempted rape. A national random survey of college women found that one in four had experienced rape or attempted rape in their lifetime and 84% of the women knew their attacker (Koss, Gidycz, and Wisniewski, 1987) (Campbell and Wasco, 2005).