Despite federal laws issued to combat sexual violence, each year 4,000 college women report to school officials that they've been sexually assaulted. What happens after they file those reports has stirred debate on campuses across the country, leaving parents and students fearful that colleges may not be the ivory towers of security and integrity that appear on their recruitment pamphlets.
Schools vary widely on how they fulfill federal requirements on how to report and respond to sexual victimization. Many colleges in Oregon, including the University of Oregon, have been criticized for attempting to keep campus assault reports under wraps, whether to shield victims from harrowing criminal investigations or to protect their own institutional reputations. And Oregon is not alone. Many schools are criticized for their inadequate reporting practices and approaches to prosecuting and expelling those accused. In a year-long study conducted by the Center for Public Integrity, results show that all too often, students found responsible for alleged sexual assaults on college campuses can face little or no consequences.
Students reporting sexual assault often turn first to campus officials. However, since allegations are often based on one person's word against another, cases are difficult to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in criminal proceedings. Many colleges and universities hold formal hearings where panels of students and faculty review evidence and determine whether a student is responsible for a crime.
Administrators stress that the college judicial system is different from criminal court in that college proceedings enforce "conduct codes" instead of anti-rape laws. In addition, college hearing boards follow sepa...
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...handle the problem professionally. All but one of these eight complaints objected that the unfavorable results of their hearings were caused, in part, by the school's inability to report the incident effectively.
"Schools need to train their faculty in how to tackle reports of sexual violence," Sokolow said. "If a student reaches out to a faculty member for help, they should have the support of a knowledgeable and caring adult. With many universities and colleges receiving federal funds to combat sexual violence, administrators need to be more diligent in using those funds to educate faculty.
Until then, victims of sexual assault may continue to be disappointed by their school's justice system. With staggering numbers of sexual assaults reported every year, schools are facing greater pressures to improve criminal proceedings in the face of campus crime.
What many need to be vigilant of is that not just campus students are in jeopardy when it comes to ravish and sexual assault, but additionally people with disabilities , children and elders, the homeless, prison inmates and immigrants that do not have licit documentation and that many times are put in positions of sexual coercion.
“Every 21 hours there is a rape on an American College Campus” (Sexual Violence on College Campuses). Sexual assault is something many have heard of and maybe know someone who was sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Sexual assault and sexual violence has been around for as long as our history books can tell us. With multiple cultural changes and new “fads”, as some may say, of college life; sexual assault has become a sort of recurring phenomenon of college lifestyles. This is not a positive thing and in no way should this be labeled as something good for college campuses. Sexual assault on college campuses should be prosecuted as rape can be falsely accused, non-consensual or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and is permanently
Sexual Assault on campus has become an epidemic, for many different reasons but one major factor that contributes is when a sexual assault occurs on a University and nothing is done. By allowing the perpetrator to get away with his or her crime your “Okaying” them and in a way giving approval which can lead
Rape is currently on the rise on American college campuses and it is the most common committed crime among college students today. In their time in college 1 out of every 5 women and 1 out of every 71 men will experience some form of sexual harassment as reported by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. These numbers are growing each year and have raised a lot of concern in the administrative level of higher education institutions. In an effort to try and prevent these occurrences universities have begun to implement mandatory curriculum to educate students on the subject and have even begun to hold campus wide events and create clubs to spread awareness and show support because of the repetitive nature of this crime. While it is good
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 ...
“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.
Is there already a sexual violence reporting system in place? (Yes. Students report sexual violence to one of the Title IX Coordinators.)
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
Rape is the most common violent crime on American college campuses. A numerous amount of issues dealing with sexual assaults has been caused by unsafe environments on college campuses. Over the past years there has been a
Every semester, a student attending a college campus will have at some point experience some inappropriate, unwanted attention. There is always someone at school who tends to make someone uncomfortable, be it through eye contact, persistent advances, or just uncalled for innuendos. Of course, we do our best to ignore it, or to just report the bothersome activity, but that can only do so much without someone finding a way around such things. Someone is always going the extra mile to get what he or she wants, even if it’s at the expense of the victim. We can’t turn a blind eye on our friends, our family, or our associates in these dark, sexual assault situation. Campus sexual assault is a problem with plenty of factors regarding it.
According to Kathleen Hirsch, the author of “Fraternities of Fear: Gang Rape, Male Bonding, and the Silencing of Women” 1 in every 4 women attending college will be the victim of sexual assault at some point during her academic career. Or in another study reported in the “The sexual Victimization of College Women” there are 35.3 incidents of sexual assault in a group of 1,000 women in a time span of 6.91 months (Statistics). Obviously sexual assault is a huge problem that should be taken very seriously. Some colleges have wonderful programs put in place that provides great services to help those students who have been have been sexually assaulted and programs that help education and prevent sexual assault.
In this research paper, we will evaluate how sexual assault is handled on a college campus. What system is used and how does it
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.
Judicial jurisdiction of sexual assault cases on college campuses reside with the institution’s review board. Under the jurisdiction of an institution, the victim of sexual assault is not provided due process or equal protection of the laws because of the subjective interest of those on the college judicial board. The student-faculty review board is comprised of a police officer, attorney, and chairperson, which are all
More than 600,000 students are hit or assaulted by another drinking student, while an estimated 97,000 are victims of alcohol-related sexual assault or date rape (Barry and Cell 2-2). Sexual violence is a very serious problem on college campuses and many times goes unreported. This is because of the stigma that has been created in college that reporting a sexual assault is a negative thing. This is all centered on the perception or image of the institution, preserving future enrollment and money. Colleges and universities want to impress politicians, alumni, media, community members, parents, and most importantly incoming freshman, so they would want to...