With one in every five women experiencing a form of sexual assault during their post-secondary education, it should come as no surprise that sexual misconduct continues to be a conflict in universities that desperately requires socio-political action (Statistics Canada, 2017). Sexual assault includes touching or physically forcing a sexual act without that person's consent. Sexual assault remains notorious as the most underreported crime, with research corroborating a victim’s feelings of shame, guilt, stigmatization, sexual victimization and the presumption that their sexual assault does not justify reporting (Statistics Canada, 2017). Post-secondary students are left unprotected from this seemingly incognito threat, coupled with abysmal school …show more content…
Consequently, controversial cases have contributed towards the passing of Bill-132, which was introduced in 2016 by the Ontario government. Coupled with the increasing pressures from students and advocates to establish standalone institutional policies, as the Bill amended various legislation in attempt to address acts of sexual violence (Bill-132, 2016). Interestingly, in addition to requiring a formal investigation within the school’s sexual violence policies, the complainant may request an informal alternative resolution during the investigation process (Bill-132, 2016). Despite the Bill’s intentions, its implementation into individualized school policies has often been characterized as unclear, inconsistent and lacked accountability. For example, Carleton University stipulates that an individual pursuing a formal investigation cannot approach media outlets or post via social media (Xing, 2017). Whereas York University details in their policies that investigations must be completed within 60 days (Xing, 2017). The universities’ included gag orders and time limits for complaints within their sexual violence policies can be deduced as ineffective because they leave students more vulnerable. Thus, mediation and more specifically, mediation circles acknowledge the harmful conduct beyond unresponsive laws and school policies that ensue from Bill-132. Accordingly, mediation establishes a safe environment for students to feel heard and to provide a platform to voice their desires for institutional change in the management of sexual violence cases both on and off
When university or police find out about the sexual assault, they immediately blame the victim or question what the victim was wearing, drinking, or doing. “Brownmiller identified four basic rape myths: (1) All women want to be raped; (2) a woman cannot be raped against her will; (3) a woman who is raped is asking for it; and (4) if a woman is going to be raped, she might as well enjoy it” (Helgeson, 2012, p. 432). In The Hunting Ground, the rape myth, which a woman who is raped is asking for it, is seen throughout the testimonies of the survivors. Clark, herself, was told by her dean that “rape is like a football game” and asked if “looking back, what would you have done differently?” (Ziering & Dick, 2015). These rape myths affect how many victims actually report and how seriously sexual assaults are taken within universities and the justice system. For example, some women, themselves, subscribe to rape myths because they see how current cases are handled. “Women who did not physically fight off the person who raped them and who subscribed to the rape myth that “it can’t be rape if a woman doesn’t fight back” were less likely to acknowledge that they had been raped” (Helgeson, 2012, p. 434). Universities need to teach first-year students about consent and how to
Violence has become prevalent within society; it is something the western world has learned to accept. With every minute that passes Canadians come face to face with certain acts of violence they may not have previously encountered (citation). Although, violence is not a subject that one can escape, women and children have unfortunately become the prime victims of violent acts. The media glorifies violence in other countries around the world it fails to address the presence of violence within Canada. Although violence is usually associated with gangs and guns, Canada experiences more violence related to bullying, sexual, verbal, cyber and domestic abuse (citation). Amidst the changing societal views towards treating women equally and eliminating objectification, of all these types of violence and abuse in our society, the most common still happens to be domestic abuse, which is mainly targeted at women and affects children. Domestic abuse is described as a form of abuse that takes place in the confines of the household (Citation). Though 51% of Canadians have said to have experienced or witnessed domestic abuse only 20% of those cases related to domestic violence are ever reported (citation). Domestic abuse has become more prevalent in modern society; however, it is an issue that is left un-noticed simply because its effects are invisible outside the walls of ones home. In reality the effects of domestic violence have severe negative effects on women, children and the social structure of today’s society. Without any notification of domestic violence the re precautions of this abuse can be dire. When an individual thinks of domestic abuse, their ideas quickly relate back to women, simply because women are the usual and most common victims of domestic violence. And therefore is an issue that must be resolved rather than ignored.
Sexual assault is the act of sexual intercourse without consent of the other person according to New South Wales Consolidation Act of 1900 (Austlii 2011) and is also described by the Australian Standard Offence Classification as ‘non-consensual’ acts or intents of sexual nature (ASOC 2008, p. 31) has become one of the most predominate crimes creating social harm in Australia. Social harm is defined as the negative influence through consequences impacting from the individual to the living conditions of the surrounding public (Cain & Howe 2008, p. 26). Sexual assault poses a social threat to all aspects of community, spreading insecurity in the 9000 victims across Australia and 1900 victims in NSW alone as indicated in the Australian Bureau of Statistics Crime Victimisation Report (ABS 2011, p. 40). This is supported by the victimization rate of all sexually assaulted victims between ages 10 to 14 being 4 times greater than all the other age groups (ABS 2010). Another major issue within the boundaries of sexual assault is that it holds one of the lowest prosecution rates with only 1 in 10 incidents able to prosecute the offender as guilty (Fitzgerald 2006, Pg. 1). The abundance of statistics and reports conducted all imply that sexual assault is still a predominate issue of crime within Australia.
Intimate partner violence has been a significant issue for centuries in all countries. "Since 1974, nearly 2,600 spousal homicides have been recorded in Canada" (Bunge, 2002). Of these homicides, more than three-quarters have been against women. Although through feminism and the women's liberation movement, there has been a slight improvement in the incidences of violence against women, there has also been a drastic change in the perception of the issue by society. After reviewing the most recent literature on violence against women and victimization through intimate partners, it has become prevalent that there are now two crucial stances that are taken. The first position is that of the women being victimized as the main issue, including prevention, causes and incidences. The second position is that of women becoming more 'aggressive' and the issue of violence against both men and women. "Wife battering- the original problem constituted by the 1970s feminists- has morphed into 'domestic violence' and then into 'husband abuse'" (Minaker, 2006). This literature review will examine the background information on intimate partner violence including different arguments and perspectives, theories, and methodologies as well as discuss the major findings and future directions of research.
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 ...
20 percent of women in undergraduate programs will suffer sexual assault, and only 1 percent of their perpetrators will be punished (Rios 2015). Yet, there is still a debate around how colleges should handle sexual assault, despite the guideline in title IX. Many educators believe colleges and universities are not equipped to punish assailants, campus trials can be unfair, and some colleges have adopted an extremely abstract definition of sexual assault making it hard to punish (IQ2US 2016). On the other hand, other educators believe sexual assault hinders the learning environment and that the justice system inadequately punishes sexual assault (IQ2US 2016). It is not easy to come up with a solution.
In the majority of early cultures and societies, women have always been considered subservient and inferior to men. Since the first wave of feminism in the 19th century, women began to revolt against those prejudicial social boundaries by branching out of the submissive scope, achieving monumental advances in their roles in civilization. However, gender inequality is still prevalent in developed countries. Women frequently fall victim to gender-based assault and violence, suffer from superficial expectations, and face discriminatory barriers in achieving leadership roles in employment and equal pay. Undoubtedly, women have gained tremendous recognition in their leaps towards equal opportunity, but to condone these discrepancies, especially
Sexual assault and rape on college campuses is a serious public issue. Before applying to these accredited institutions most students do not look up the school 's past records of sexual assault and rape on their campus.College campuses have failed to keep students safe the system they use has failed to protect and obtain justice for those that have been victims of sexual assault. Society plays a huge part in how young adults view sexual assault. From young age girls are told “if he’s bothering you it 's because he likes you”, and boys aren 't held accountable for their actions because “boys will be boys”. At what time does it stop being a game. At what age is it not acceptable for boys to mistreat girls, when is the line drawn and, what is the punishment for when this line is crossed.
According to a statement addressing the sexual victimization of college women The Crime and Victimization in America states that, “ One out of four women will be sexually assaulted on a college campus.” This disturbing fact has not minimized throughout the years, instead it is continuing to worsen throughout college campuses. Sexual assault is not an act to be taken lightly. Society must stop pinpointing the individuals who commit these crimes one by one, but rather look at the problem as a whole and begin to understand the main cause of sexual assault and possible methods to reduce these acts of sexual coercion.
About one in four women are victims of sexual assault in college, but there are ways to prevent this problem. The consequences of sexual assault are harmful and long-lasting and affect not only the victims but also their families and communities. Solutions to this problem _______. But, as Richard Edwards, chancellor of Rutgers-New Brunswick college said, “Regardless of the number, it’s a major problem, affecting our students and people all across the country and it has to be taken seriously” (5). If people work together, the steps can be taken to stop sexual assault in colleges.
INTRO SENTENCE The canadian laws surrounding Rape are incredibly vague, and leave room for victim-blaming, unfounding cases and using the wrong “tier” of sexual assault to describe the case, leading women to drop the cases or not reporting them at all. SWITCH Victim-blaming is one of the main reasons women who were sexually assaulted do not come forward.
The injustices that occur within the university system crucially need attention because changes need to be made in order to create a healthier and safer environment for the students. Colleges often degrade the victims, encourage predatory behavior, as well as mishandle cases due to various factors when handling rape cases. Victims of date rape are often degraded by students and faculty members
Wente (2013) defined rape culture as the systemic attitudes that diminishes, dismisses, deflects and normalizes sexual assault. The public has been exposed to some very open displays of rape culture on Canadian campuses over the last few years. At Saint Mary’s University in Halifax in 2013, student leaders led several hundred first-year students in a chant that went like this: “Y is for your sister, O is for oh so tight; U is for underage, N is for no consent, G is for grab that ass.” Days later came reports of a similar cheer, this time at the University of British Columbia, a school that was in the midst of coping with a series of frightening sexual assaults (Tamburri & Sampson, 2014). In 2014, McMaster University suspended an engineering student group over a songbook containing what the university calls “sexist, violent and degrading” material.
Sexual assault on college campuses has become a hot topic in today’s society. From the Stanford swimmer, Brock Turner, raping an unconscious woman (Miller, 2016, para.1) to the Florida State star football player, Jameis Winston, being accused of rape and FSU covering it up (Dick, 2016, para 1), sexual assault on campus is everywhere. The prevalence of reported assaults are often skewed, due to women feeling uncomfortable about discussing what they went through. Many of these occurrences happen because of frats, and the alcohol they serve. But some believe they don’t contribute to this growing crisis.
The leadership role maintained by top administrators must take the lead for ensuring that universities have the proper measures in place to prevent violence against students. It’s imperative to note that the highest incident of violence on any campus will be sexual assaults. This has been an epidemic for many decades but many universities fail to accurately report their incidents of sexual assault. Only after extensive scrutiny has been placated on this crime by the media has the issue become a major topic in the lexicon of politics. Quintessentially, it is mandatory for the collegiate “Deans” and other leadership officials to ensure that this issue is properly addressed by creating programs and services that deal directly with the issue of sexual