Sexual Assault Research Paper

Recently in local news, an issue regarding the often overlooked subject of sexual assault has rapidly bubbled to the surface. Allegedly, three female students from Norman High School were raped by one of their fellow peers and suffered additional harassment from their pupils about the assaults (Hope). In response, students and parents peacefully protested against the assaults and bullying, and a class on sexual assault is set to be integrated into their curriculum in the future (Hope). This tragedy demonstrates the spectrum of response people can have—on one side, the culture of tolerance allows people to ignore the situation, or even make it worse by further humiliating the victims; whereas on the other side of the spectrum, people protest

The end goal is to encourage actions that are more like the latter side of the spectrum, and to overcome the culture of tolerance—thus lowering the amount of assaults. Unfortunately, assaults occur not only to just high school students, but to college students as well—in fact, 20% of women in college will be assaulted by the time they graduate. One in five women is a terrifying statistic, and it is ethical to prevent this tragic phenomenon due to the possible negative emotional, social, and physical consequences of assault. Probably one of the most damaging, and longest lasting effects of assault, is the emotional turmoil that follows afterwards. Every victim’s response is unique, and they suffer from a range of emotional disorders, from depression to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Survivors of sexual assault are more likely to become depressed, anxious, engage in risky behavior, develop an eating

Many women will be taunted and harassed from their assailant and his friends after the incident, which just serves as additional baggage on top of the emotional stress. Victims already feel shameful and dirty after being assaulted, and harassers take pleasure in adding to their feelings of guilt. Those who knew their assailant personally—many do—and share the same group of friends are more likely to suffer from such harassment. According to the National Institute of Justice, “About 85 to 90 percent of sexual assaults reported by college women are perpetrated by someone known to the victim; about half occur on a date” (“Most Victims Know”). In addition, survivors who share the same tight-knit community with their assailant, like Greek life, for example, are more prone to gossip amongst members. Those who oppose these beliefs might state that these “victims” are really just seeking attention and sympathy from others, and some women do falsely report assault for those very reasons. However, a 2000 Bureau of Justice Statistics/Department of Justice study found that “fewer than 5 percent of completed and attempted rapes of women in college were reported to law enforcement officials, and that number drops still lower for other forms of sexual assault” (Kingkade). In reality, the vast majority of assaults go unreported (thus, feeding into the culture of tolerance), due to embarrassment and fear of the social