Rape on College Campuses 1. Introduction “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. …show more content…
The first basic question simply asks what is going on in terms of sexual assault on college campuses. What type of sexual assaults are most common, how frequent are they, and what procedures are taken to discipline perpetrators and prevent more instances of sexual assault? After getting the information, the next question asks why things are the way they are. Why are sexual assaults and a rape-supportive culture so extensive on college campuses, and why are so few people, especially those in power, trying to change
As seniors in high school are committed to colleges and getting excited for some of the best years of their lives, they are preparing for early classes, late nights and good times. These teens have been looking forward to these years that have seemed to come so fast. Of course they’re getting excited about picking their dream job and looking forward to meeting life long friends that they should be able to trust. No one thinks about or mentions the number of rapes on college campuses. If the first thing colleges mentioned was the reported rapes on their campuses, would that change the minds of kids that have had a certain college in mind? Besides the reported date rapes, what about the estimated sexual assaults that go unreported? Knowing the facts and statistics about colleges and how they handle sexual assault cases would make anyone getting ready for college think twice about how safe they’re being and who they are trusting.
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
In what is sure to be a very solemn matter for all American students and their families across the country , in January 2013 , President Obama, the office of the Vice President and the White House Council on Women and Girls converged and issued a renewed call to action against rape and sexual assault report which analyzes the most recent reliable data about this issue and identifies who are the most in peril victims of this malefaction, investigates the costs of this violence both for victims and communities , and describes the replication very often inadequate of the US malefactor equity system.
Also, the colleges that attempt to cover up the crime should be penalized by not our justice system but the media so the world can be better informed about the college they either go to or send their child to. First I summarized "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women?" written by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Space. The. Then I used information from my criminology class to better define violent crime. Lastly, I explained how rape on campus is not a cultural component.
sexual assault, because they have failed to keep the victim safe and instead favored in
Nicole Johnson*, a 22-year-old senior at an area university looks back at her college experience as graduation approaches, generally happy with how everything turned out, however, a dark cloud still looms over her freshman year when she was raped.
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 ...
According to an interview by Beckett Brennan with Katie Couric “95 percent of victims that were sexual assault on college campuses do not report the sexual assault” (The Case). Majority of sexual assaults that happen on a college campus, will never be reported. Colleges should have more of a responsibility when it comes to the sexual assaults on campuses. Colleges need to own up to the sexual assaults, and take responsibility for the sexual assaults. Colleges need to stop pushing sexual assaults away, and need to stand up and do something about the sexual assaults on college campuses. Although sexual assaults are an individuals responsible, colleges should also be responsible in the sexual assaults that happen on college campuses.
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
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).
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.
The sexual assault on college campuses is a problem that needs to be consulte more. In their freshmen year of college one in five women are sexually assaulted. Many women know that they will not get the help that they require as well as knowing the victim will not get punished the way that they should, therefore they do not report the crime of being assaulted. This leads women to think about or actually go through with committing suicide. There is a mixture of causes that leads to the sexual assault to occur. One of them being in an environment such as a party where there is alcohol. Men will look for women that are drinking a lot of alcohol. They look for that so that they can slip a drug into it that will put the women into almost an unconscious
Lit review Colleges are one of the most studied locations for crime. There are many different forms of crimes and colleges. These colleges can be first classified as two-year or four-year institutions. There are also graduate schools and other levels of institutions. Looking at trends from 1974-1990, the highest rate of crime occurred in medical school, and the lowest amount of crime occurred in two-year institutions.
Sexual assault on college campuses has been an increasing problem all across America. Journalist for Time Magazine, Eliza Gray, claims in her article, “The Sexual Assault Crisis on American Campuses”, that college is becoming a dangerous place for young women due to the rising crimes of sexual assault. Gray provides statistics to capture the reader’s attention, uses specific examples to trigger certain emotions among those who are reading, and brings in outside sources to give their opinion about what actions should be taken to rectify the problem. Gray’s use of logos, pathos, and ethos to inform the public about the epidemic of sexual assault contributes to her compelling and persuasive argument.