Another factor that tends to be consistent in sexual assault cases is the involvement of alcohol. No one can claim that it is a woman’s fault if she is raped, and if they did, they would be in the wrong, as it is entirely the perpetrators wrongdoing. However, there has been a longstanding connection between women who are consuming alcohol and their vulnerability and risk of being sexually assaulted or rape1. It was discovered that women typically drink in certain settings, and these settings are what can increase the chances of sexual assault, researchers Testa and Livingston claiming that,
“Drinking settings typically include men who are drinking and hence more likely to be sexually aroused, to misperceive women’s sexual intent and to accept
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As horrible as it is, I believe sexual assault will always exist in some form of another, but I think there are steps we can take as a society to lessen its presence. First, we must eliminate harmful gender roles and stereotypes that go along with “being a man.” Requirements for being a man should not be violence and aggression. Many of our ideas of masculinity come from the media, as proven by the documentary Tough Guise, so we need filmmakers and producers to stop representing males in such a narrow, harmful way. Also, we need to stop using phrases such as “boys will be boys.” Boys have no biological factors that make them more aggressive or reckless, so their behavior should not be excused through statements like this that only perpetuate rape …show more content…
This will prevent rape because men won’t feel like they are entitled to have a woman. To achieve this, we obviously have to extensively educate our children on gender, and why men and women deserve equal treatment, and why patriarchy is a detrimental concept. I believe discussions of gender inequality should exist in all public schools, as I know I have never talked about it until I got to college and I think that can be really harmful if it’s not discussed, but really progressive if it is. Rape and sexual assault should also be addressed at a very young age. I think many people are afraid of having these conversations with their kids, but I believe it is absolutely necessary. The first time teenagers hear about the real facts of sexual assault, and how prevalent it is, should not be at college
Sexual assault encompasses the criminal act of rape; however it seems as if many relative cases spawn from various alcohol encounters. In Emily Yoffe’s article “College Women Stop Getting Drunk,” she links both victim and perpetrator to alcohol. How can this cause be changed?
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.
Several changes can be made in every dimension of oppression in order to try eliminate rape culture from our society. The easiest way to have a wider impact on extinguishing rape is at an institutional level. Some measures can be implemented at an institutional level. The first one, government has the power to make punishment for rape more drastic. For example, sentences with longer time in jail. Education institutions are also a strong place to start a rape-free culture. High schools and colleges should have required courses to educate both young men and women of how to be respectful in a sexual way. Also in the workplace, meetings about sexual respect should be held at least once a year. Eliminating rape in symbolic and individual dimensions is a little bit more complex. For the symbolic dimension, a change of society’s stereotypes would be required. We live in a society where a man, in order to be considered masculine, need to be seen as strong, powerful, leader and even aggressive. This is one of the main reasons why rape is still present nowadays. Man want to be powerful and strong, and when they can get that by being nice, they get into a frustration stage that makes them reach the worse ways in order to achieve those qualities. By telling men they need to be strong and powerful, we are creating a justification of every action in order to accomplish those attributes. Finally, in order to make some adjustments to try erase rape from our society in an individual dimension, it is extremely necessary to start since we are children. We need to raise our children with a completely understanding that respect in essential in human relationships and that rape is not an option. Also, as mentioned before, the individual dimension is focused on the way both institutional and symbolic dimensions affect our personal life, so I believe
90 percent of the victims of sexual assault are women and 10 percent are men, and nearly 99 percent of offenders in single-victim assaults are men (Bureau of Justice Statistics 2010). According to https://www.justice.gov/ovw/sexual-assault, Sexual assault is 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 attempted rape. () Sexual Assault can happen to anyone, not just women it can happen to men and kids as well. Sexual Assault these days are a big trouble and it is not being addressed in good order, and it is
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...
Sexual assault is defined as a type of behaviour that occurs without explicit consent from the recipient and under sexual assault come various categories such as sexual activities as forces sexual intercourse, incest, fondling, attempted rape and more (Justice.gov. 2017). People often become victims of sexual assault by someone they know and trust (Mason & Lodrick, 2013) which is conflicting to the public’s perception and beliefs that offenders are strangers. Women are the main victims for sexual assault and are 5 times more likely to have been a victim of sexual assault from a male (Wright, 2017, p. 93). Men are victims of sexual assault however only 0.7% of men, compared to 3.2% of women, experience some form of sexual assault which highlights how vulnerable women are compared to men. Sexual assault is publicised and exposed in the media, however is often
17, 700, 000 women have reported sexual assault since 1998. That’s 17, 700, 000 reports too many. You see, we live in a society where women are taught to be careful not to get raped instead of men being taught not to rape. Where “rape culture” is perpetuated through the use of misogynistic language, the objectification of women’s bodies, and the glamorization of sexual violence, thereby creating a society that disregards women’s rights and safety. Where we trivialize sexual assault by saying “boys will be boys” and tell women that they should take it as a compliment. Where when you’re a female, especially in the tech industry, speaking out about sexual harassment is like dropping a nuclear bomb on your career. And when a female
About two months ago, I went to pick up my 8-year-old niece from school. It being the last day of the term, they had been allowed to come to school in home clothes and make up. The first thing I noted was she had adorned on trendy fitting jeans and a t-shirt that had the drawing of Dora the Explorer in glitter and sequins. She also spotted bright red lipstick and some purplish mascara. She looked quite good but as we drove towards their home, I noted that she had difficulties in drinking water from her water bottle. I noticed that any time she wanted to take a sip; she tilted her head backwards, held the bottle at an angle to the mouth and poured the water right in. She then would swallow and put her lips in a pout so as to
Society needs to start taking responsibility for the actions of its people. Rape is very real, and is a major problem in America. The existence of rape culture needs to be recognized and combated to make the world safer for everyone. Rather than teaching boys not to rape, and girls not to get raped, it’s time to teach everyone to value each other.
It has been statistically proven that most people never speak up possibly because of the fear from being attacked and/or blamed for such a crime being committed against them. Unfortunately, sexism plays a tremendous role in these situations. Webster’s dictionary defines it as prejudice or discrimination based on sex; especially: discrimination against women. It was found that out of 1 in 5 female college students only 11% report their abuse. (NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education) One can only imagine that part of this reason may arguably be because of the stigma that is placed around being sexually abused which is single handedly enforced by colleges. It may not be said verbally, but on college websites, seminars, and flyers across the nation women are automatically being held responsible and are thoroughly judged when bringing up the issue of being sexually assaulted. Two researchers, Nicole Bedra and Kristjane Nordmeyer, discovered that out of 500 prevention tips posted by colleges or universities over 80% of them targeted women and less than 14% targeted men. When gender neutral tips are only a whopping 6%, this sends off the message that men should not be held responsible for such actions. Most rape prevention techniques toss much of the burden on women and it creates
People don’t commit sexual assault because they don’t have enough sexual opportunities. People commit sexual assault because they feel entitled to other people’s bodies and disregard another people’s right to consent. As mentioned before sexual assault can take may different forms, but depending on the age and even gender they can respond differently. "Sexual Assault of Men and Boys (2018) explains how men and boys who have been sexually assaulted or abused may have many of the same feelings and reactions as other survivors of sexual assault, but they may also face some additional challenges because of social attitudes and stereotypes about men and masculinity. In our society men are portrayed as being dominant and, in our culture, we put
Rape can happen to anyone. Women from different cultures, races, ages, and economic level are all vulnerable. It does not matter who you are or where you live, although women of lowest status are most vulnerable to rape, and so are Hispanic and African American women. (An...
Sexual assault needs to be taken seriously and shouldn’t be tossed aside or placed under the rug. When it comes to sexual assault a stand needs to be made. People tend to think the way girls dress and act they are asking for sexual assault and well that is just beyond wrong! There is something called a slut walk and everyone should participate in it. A slut walk is, “A kind of protest march against rape culture, generally led by young women who dress in revealing clothing” (Slutwalk Dictionary Definition). Goodwin college is one of the colleges in Connecticut to hold a slut walk and have girls take a stand and show people that no one asks for a sexual assault to happen so why it is happen and it needs to be stopped and addressed. Take a chance because no one ever knows who can be attacked, it can be someone you know, yourself, your daughter, anyone close to you or just a helpless person. No matter who it is it is still something very scary and something that shouldn’t be
Women are more likely to be victims of rape or sexual violence than men. Seventy-eight percent of victims of women and twenty-two percent are men. Women who are raped before the age of eighteen are twice as likely to be raped again as adults. Victims are at greater risk of rape or sexual assault while intoxicated. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sh...
Victims who were under the influence may feel as though their report won’t be validated since they chose to go out and chose to get drunk. Judge Lindsay Kushner made the claim that, “yes, you can drink yourself daft and you can use your body how you want, but if you do you are more likely to get raped.” But what must be noted is that the victim did not choose to get raped and the intent of rape ultimately lies with the perpetrator. This point of view emphasizes the traditional ideology of gender roles in sexual assault cases when women are the