“Stop.”, “Stay silent.”, “Just pretend that you’re somewhere else. Pretend that you aren’t getting sexually assaulted, or raped.” This is the all too common issue women go through in their minds, trying to block out the events that are occurring with them. Rape is an extreme issue, affecting over 280,000 Americans each year (RAINN). In numerous cases of rape, alcohol plays a factor in the sexual assault, either altering a victim or the perpetrator. The idea of alcohol and rape has become a controversial topic in society and court, determining the outcome of sexual assault cases. Because of this, the use of alcohol should play an important role in the cases, due to the fact that it inhibits proper decision making, sets a dangerous precedent …show more content…
The brain is a unique part of the human body. Researchers are finding new information regarding it, everyday. When alcohol is consumed, it disrupts the normal function of the brain and its effect on decision making. Consuming alcohol affects how neurons send off messages. Specifically, the glutamate in alcohol “infiltrates the glutamate receptors in your synapses, hurting their ability to send off their normal "fire" messages.” (What Alcohol Actually Does to Your Brain and Body). This occurrence affects a person’s muscle control, speech, coordination, and judgement. (What Alcohol Actually Does to Your Brain and Body). When someone decides to participate in sexual activity, it might not necessarily be their own decision. Due to the fact that alcohol affects many functions of the brain, women who are under the influence are not in the right state of mind to comply or agree with sexual activity. In a recent survey, it was found that forty-seven percent of college women who were raped stated that they were unable to resist sexual activity as a result of their own alcohol use. (Top Ten Facts about Sexual Assault and Alcohol). Women should not be punished for their actions when under the influence. Instead, alcohol should be factored it to the case against the perpetrator, because the victim had a blurred recollection of the events taking place. In this modern age, men will do anything to get farther with or have sexual interactions with a girl. This can mean slipping date
In Daniel Luzer’s article “Is Alcohol Really to Blame for the Prevalence of Sexual Assault on College Campuses?” he suggesting that alcohol is not the reason for the continuous sexual assaults at the college level, published on November 18, 2013 by Pacific Standard. In this article Daniel along with other sources suggest that all of the sexual assaults in college, although may involve alcohol, should not be blamed on alcohol, but on the society we have become. They suggest how college students mingle today is different than how they did years ago, and college students are not assaulting females because they are drunk, but because they have not been taught that it is wrong to do so. Different studies have shown that alcohol in colleges has not
In Daniel Luzer’s article titled “Is Alcohol Really to Blame for the Prevalence of Sexual Assault on College Campuses?” published on November 18th, 2013 by Pacific Standard, the reality about sexual assault is shared. While in college, many teens are reporting more sexual assault cases on campus, but is alcohol really to blame? Due to the consumption of alcohol, behavior changes occur for both men and women. Many believe girls are at fault for putting themselves in the position to be assaulted because of their decision to drink. On the other hand, people also blame the boys for their drunken violence towards girls while intoxicated. Alcohol is not the only misdemeanor in this case. Throughout history, changes are occurring in teens’ social
Sexual assault and the Massachusetts Department of Public works with local rape crisis centers to gather statistical data so we can assess and know the facts and realities of rape in Massachusetts. While statistics do not tell the whole story of sexual assault, they can help us paint a picture of the problem. The forensic nurse has an integral part of this specific population’s victimization. A forensic nurse should have a basic knowledge of the type of offender the rapist can be. As a certified sexual assault investigator for Middlesex County I have investigated, collected evidence, arrested, testified and successfully aided in the prosecution and conviction of rapists. I will explore the definition of rape and criminal statutes related to the crime of rape, rape trauma syndrome, and some of the drugs a perpetrator uses to assist in commission of this crime and how the FN and the police share a different but equal role in prosecuting the offender.
Twenty-eight states fall under the category of “true non-consent states”, where the prosecution is not required to show that the offender used “force or threats of force against the victim”, and the defendant can be convicted of a sex offense by showing that the victim did not consent (Decker, 2011). While the majority fall under the first category, nine states can be identified as “contradictory non-consent states”, where the prosecution must prove either “the use of forcible compulsion or a victim’s incapacity to consent”; according to Decker, “requiring force or a lack of capacity to consent” completely counteracts the point of having a non-consent provision (Decker, 2011). The third category, “force states”, includes states that do not have non-consent sex offenses. Although the initial impression is that the majority of states have adopted non-consent standards, it is misleading because the number of states that are true to that definition shrinks as the statutes are examined more concisely (Decker, 2011). With that being said, in addition to defining consent and force, the concept of “rape” has also been clarified and developed.
America stands by traditional notions where rape culture is the norm and revolves around society. In particular, when a woman is raped, their actions prior to the incident are usually accounted for their fate of being sexually assaulted. Lately in America, there has been a controversy over women being victim blamed by legal authority in rape cases. These women are slut shammed for allegedly “asking for it” by being intoxicated and having the intention to “have fun”. Because of these accusations of allegedly seeking to engage sexually, rape victims are blamed for initiating the sexual act. An ongoing controversial rape case is the Stanford rape trial of Brock Turner, where the victim was sexually assaulted while unconscious near a dumpster. Turner was convicted for sexual assault, however was only incarcerated for three months. This has recently caused uproar due to justice and retribution not being equally served. The incident occurred near a university campus party; where alcohol was involved and memory loss was present. In addition, she was rushed to the hospital as a rape victim and was examined. Despite complying to use a rape kit and be evaluated, the victim’s accountability is undermined by the leniency of treatment in rape charges. When examining linguistic features of both parties’ written statements, several factors can be analyzed such as each participant’s stance and the credibility of their accounts. In addition, when dissecting a victim’s written account,
According to the Los Angles College Consortium (n.d.) there are effects associated with alcohol use they include that the use of alcohol is a factor in most college rapes, alcohol is considered the number one date rape drug, and there is an increase in the likelihood of sexual assault among acquaintance during social interactions. Drug-facilitated sexual assault is defined as “unwanted sexual contact or intercourse that occurs when the victim is too intoxicated or high from alcohol and/or a drug given to her without her consent or against her wishes” (Lawyer et al, 2010, p. 454). Other drug-facilitated sexual assaults include GHB, Rohypnol, ketamine, and Soma (Los Angeles College Consortium, n.d.). These drugs render victims unconscious and they tend to have little or no memory of what happened (Los Angeles College Consortium, n.d). Examples include the following heavy alcohol use was found to predict later sexual assault in a sample of 274 college women, sexual assault were nine times higher on days when a woman reported heavy drinking than days where no alcohol was consumed, and approximately one third to one half of victims report drinking at the time of the assault (Kaysen, Neighbors, Martell, Fossos, & Larimer, 2006). Cases of drug facilitated sexual assault tend to fall through the cracks in the criminal justice system according
Alcohol impairs a person’s judgement and can increase aggressive behaviors (it does most of the time). Alcohol related crime/violence rates are rising very quickly throughout the country. There are two million incarcerated men and women in the United States, and 37% of those people admit to drinking before being arrested. When it comes to rape and sexual assault, 90% of cases involve the drinking of alcohol. Almost 30% of inmates reported being under the influence of alcohol or drugs when committing murder. Almost 3 million violent crimes happen a year in which alcohol is involved. In addition, 95% of all violent crimes reported at American colleges involve alcohol. It has been proven that binge drinking or prolonged drinking can lead to acts that are more violent and that can put other people around the drinker in serious danger. Substance abuse plays a huge role in these violent crimes. The more a person drinks the less they can control their actions and how violent they become.
The creation of Tennessee’s rape shield law was enacted as a response to the outdated and sexist views that women that engaged in sexual activity in their past were more than likely to have consented to have sex with an accused defendant in a rape case (Rape and Sexual Assault, 2010). Subsequently, as a result of these beliefs, many women fail to report their rapes for fear of being judged prejudicially based on their reputation, previous behaviors, thus resulting in their re-victimization in court. Additionally, the protections provided under Tennessee’s Rape Shield Law acknowledged that parts of the victim’s sexual history may be irrelevant to their current case; therefore rape shield laws limited the use of a victim’s prior sexual history
Since “alcohol appears to enhance interest in sex,” (Hart & Ksir, 2015, p. 221) young people drink and could engage in sexual risky behavior such as having unprotected sex or casual sex with multiple partners. A consequence of unprotected sex could be an unwanted pregnancy or a sexual transmitted disease. Many studies have found that drinking alcohol at the time of the offense have been reported on more than one-third of all rapes and sexual assaults (Hart & Ksir, 2015). Alcohol impairs the thoughts and places the young adult drinking illegally at risk of sexual assault. The alcohol use increases the chance for sexual assault including rape.
In America, 1 out of 6 women fall victim to rape at some point in their lives—completed or not (“Victims of Sexual Violence” 1). However, this is only one form of sexual assault that women are forced to face. Groping and other non-consensual, sexual acts are also examples of sexual assault (“Sexual Assault” 1).. Many perpetrators of sexual assault roam free, practically unaffected and likely to commit another similar act, while the woman could feel the effects of this event for her entire life. This problem affects women from around the globe—and it’s time that we put an end to it, because if we don’t, who will? If boys were to be taught how and how not to treat women in their early years, sexual assault would not be as prevalent, thus, women, including us, would not have to worry as much about enduring this kind of torment.
The Sexual Offences Act (2003) is a relatively new law, which aimed to redefine sexual misconduct and establish the punishments for such acts , this includes defining consent; 'a person consents if he agrees by choice and has the freedom and capacity to make that choice.' Although the act broadens the topic with definitions, there is still a need for reform. An area in need of reform is regarding rape while intoxicated. The Sexual Offences Act 2003 covers the instances for when the Victim (V) is intoxicated to the point that she falls unconscious, and there is protection if she is involuntarily intoxicated, e.g. a spiked drink.
Sexual harassment and assault are often associated with alcohol use: In a recent survey of college students, 75 percent of male perpetrators and 55 percent of female victims said they were drinking at the time of the attack.
There is a definite correlation between alcohol and sexual assault. A sexual assault can be defined as a sexual act occurring without verbal consent, or when force is used in a sexual encounter against the other person's will. Of all the men who admit to committing sexual assault, 55% report being under the influence of alcohol at the time, with 26% of the men being drunk (Stanford University, 1999). Of all the women who report being sexually assaulted, 53% of them report being under the influence of alcohol, with 21% of these women being drunk (Stanford University, 1999). These facts suggest that alcohol is a major factor in sexual assaults. Crimes such as these could be greatly reduced if
There are still quite a few debates and questions revolving around the correlation between alcohol and/or drug use and sexual aggression and sexual assault (Swartout & White, 2010). It has been shown that males in college exhibit higher levels of sexually aggressive behaviours. In a national survey conducted on college men, 25.1% of them, before the age of fourteen, said that they had
Rape also known as sexual assault is having sexual intercourse or any form of sexual penetration against a person’s will or consent. It could be carried out by coercion, the use of physical power or abuse of authority. It is an act many societies, if not all discourage, and attracts different form of punishment in different geographical locations. There are many consequences of rape; some people suffer from depression, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Suicidal tendencies, and Anxiety Disorder. It was not a surprise when the Mr. Cosby’s alleged case of rapes were waved and flooded to the entire media channels in the USA and other countries. Majority of people can recall number of such cases where some prominent African – Americans were sued