Sexual assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities as forced sexual intercourse, forcible sodomy, child molestation, incest, fondling, and In the United States 80% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Of that 80%, 44% are under the age of 18 (RAINN, 2016). That leaves 36% of victims between the ages of 18 and 30. These percentages become even more alarming when that 80% is of about 293,000 victims of secual assualt each year (RAINN, 2016). It is estimated that 1 in every 6 women in the US has been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The risks of sexual assault increase on college campuses. Women ages 18-24 who are enrolled in college are 3 times more likely than women in general to suffer from sexual violence (RAINN, 2016). One would think that with all these women being sexually assaulted, one would hear more about it, or perhaps the police stations would constantly be busy. This is not the case. Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes, with 68% still being left unreported (RAINN, 2016). This could be because of every 100 rapists, only 2 will spend a day in jail. Of the 32 out of 100 that would be reported, only 7 are referred to an arrest (RAINN, 2016). Why would men or women want to report sexual assault when the system that is supposed to protect them fails so often, and why does this system continue to fail? 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 ... ... middle of paper ... ...e Dean than to report to the police. A police report and a trail take time and one 's rapist could still be walking around campus. But if one reports the the Dean, there s a small and private judiciary process to get the rapist at least removed from one 's classes if any are shared. Perhaps this will make victims more aware that although it might take longer and be harder, reporting to the police may be a better route. Then the rapist will hopefully and up in jail, making the victim feel safe. Maybe this trail will also make people more aware of sexual assault and how it can be stopped. In my research paper I want to continue to look into sexual assault stories, its potential causes, more statistics, and what we can do to decrease the amount of sexual assaults on college campuses. Hopefully, if anything substantial is found, it can be integrated into SIU’s policies.
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
The trial of 19 year old Owen Laurie has brought into light the alarming rate in which Sexual assault is rising. The issue that rages on in Colleges is said to be making its way to high schools and primary school. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of Violence Prevention, 19% of Undergraduate women experienced
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.
In an article written by John Alan Fox, Fox makes the broad claim that sexual assault is in an era of, “...Hype and hysteria--far out of proportion with the actual risk…” and “The often - repeated yet exaggerated claim that one in five college females are sexually assaulted during their undergraduate years…” (Fox, para 1&2 ). The claims of sexual assault have become more constant in the past years, yes the claims are repeated, but in no way are most claims of sexual assault “exaggerated”. It truthfully takes the victim a while to even talk to a friend about their assault let alone report it, “When students nationwide were asked why they did not report incidents of sexual misconduct...because they were ‘embarrassed, ashamed or that it would be too emotionally difficult’...” (Campus Sexual Assault Survey Details Prevalence at UT Austin and 26 Other US Universities, para 16). The claim of the “one in five college females” is an often repeated claim that many see in sexual assault campaigns and is most common among college women, but, “Sexual violence happens to people of all ages, races, genders, sexual orientations, religions, abilities, professions, incomes and ethnicities” (Info and Stats on Sexual Assault, pg 9). In fact, “The rates of sexual assault and misconduct are highest among undergraduate women and transgender, gender queer
Sexual assault is defined as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” (“Sexual Assault”, 2nd heading). An average of 237,868 Americans (ages 12+) are sexually assaulted per year. This translates to an american being sexually assaulted every two minutes. This does not even include all of the children who are victims of sexual assault. The government has tried to combat these appallingly high statistics with various pieces of legislature, including Title IX.
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.
Yoffe's article discusses The Unfortunate Truth About College Campuses Rape Policies. Yoffe's article presents detailed information of how many campuses have rules that are intended to protect victims from sexual assault, meaning that students are losing their right to due process as well as an accusation of wrongdoing that can derail a person's entire college experience and education. Yoffe's article then provides brief background stories of several people encountering sexually assaulted cases on college campuses.
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.
The highest cause of sexual assault on college campus is alcohol use. Alcohol decreases a person’s ability to fight off an attack. It also can make the attacker more aggressive and unable to clearly interpret the victims’ interest in them sexually (“Alcohol Use”). In the research article Alcohol Use Increases the Risk of Sexual Assault, “A study of sexual assault victims – half of whom were college students – found that women who were drinking when an assault took place reported that their intoxication made them take risks they would normally avo...
A. Background Information: The next four years of the students’ lives after high school mark the moment they become independent. Because of the freedom, college students are more susceptible to careless actions like drinking, doing drugs, and even committing sexualt assualt. Sexual assault has been around for years and the actions to prevent this heinous crime has been minimal, especially in colleges and universities. In 2015, Brock Turner, a student from Stanford, sexually assaulted a young woman on campus. Turner claimed that because he was drinking, was with friends, and saw a “promiscuous” female student, that pressured him into committing such a heinous crime. This was because Stanford University didn’t teach its students sexual assault prevention which caused the victim to be harm and violated. By teaching college students about sexual assault prevention, it decreases the number of sexual assault cases on campus, prevents psychological damage to the victim’s mental state, and educates other students to know the signs
To date, “between 10 to 40 percent of female students [. . .] have been raped while [. . .] up to 60 percent of males students [have] commit[ed] actions that meet the legal definition of sexual assault” (Bretz 19). This percentage demonstrates the ineffectiveness of university policies and signifies a drastic change to procedures is in order if educational institutions want to see improvement. In order to see an effective change, policies must “explicitly define key terms such as “‘consent’, ‘force’ [,]‘incapacity’ and cover [a] range of sexually violent behavior” (Gunraj 9). Furthermore, since the age of fourteen 58.7% of females “ha[ve] experienced one or more forms of victimization[. . .] 35.0% ha[ve] experienced at least one completed or attempted rape and 23.5% ha[ve] been raped” (Senn et. al. Results). First-year female students are not prepared for the perpetrators they will face on campus, and as a result, are more vulnerable to sexual violence. Universities need to develop effective policies and procedures to not only prepare women for the challenges they may face but to reduce the overall number of sexual assaults and make school a safer environment for
Studies show that 1 in 16 men will be sexually assaulted while in college, and these studies have also shown that 1 in 5 women will be sexually assaulted while in college. These ratios may not even be entirely accurate, as studies also show that 90% of all rape cases go unreported by their victims. Studies have also shown that 65% of the self reported sexual violators have had multiple victims in the past. According to a report done by CNN a survey of 150,000 students across 27 Universities participated in a survey whose focus was to college information on students that have been sexually harassed, assaulted, or raped. And the consensus was that 23% of these students have been sexually assaulted to some degree. 50% of students who have later reported these incidents commented that they didn’t report the incident sooner because they didn’t believe that it was “serious enough.” These numbers are startling, and they show that sexual assault is a real danger to the student populations of our nation’s campuses.
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.
A report commissioned by the united States Department of Justice through the National College Women Sexual Victimization study and based on 4,446 women who were attending a two to four year institution during the Fall of 1996 discovered that three percent of college women find themselves victims of sexual assault in any of their academic years. More recent studies sponsored by the National Institute of Justice and based on a sample of 5,446 undergraduate females found that nineteen percent of college undergraduate students have experienced attempted or completed sexual assault. In the Campus Sexual Assault Study, 52.7% of victims had completed less than two years of college when assaulted. Even more surprising than these numbers is the fact that the statistics are in actuality low because victims often times do not come forward for fear of the judgment they are going to face by their
In society, sexual assault has become a frequent occurrence, and there are several causes that influence it, including the low rates of reporting, the stereotypical gender roles and expectations, the sociocultural context, the power differentials, and the hierarchy between men and women. It is important to be able to differentiate the truth from the misconceptions. Studies show that, “ 13% and 25% of women experience sexual assault at some point in their lives” (Elliot 1). However, men are more likely to be physically assaulted whereas women are more likely to experience interpersonal violence (Elliot 1). For men, sex is binary, and they must receive it, which is a main cause of sexual assault. In addition, another cause is the majority of rapists do not get prosecuted, as the victims are reluctant to report it. In the sociocultural context, men are expected to be aggressive and women are supposed to be