Rape and Sexual Assault
Rape is an age-old crime that society has just begun to understand the consequences of. In order to thoroughly understand rape, it has to be defined. However, this can be difficult to achieve because throughout history the definition and policies to prevent rape have constantly changed and varied across culture and generations. According to Dr. Mallicoat, professor at California State University, rape can be defined as “sexual intercourse under force, threat of force, or without the legal consent of the individual. (Mallicoat, 2015)” It’s unfortunate to note that most states consider an incident rape only if it includes penile-vaginal penetration. Rape is considered a more serious crime than sexual assault, which is an umbrella term for all other unwanted sexual activity besides rape (Mallicoat, 2015). Despite having these solid definitions, it’s still not clearly understood what actions and policies need to be put in place to prevent it. This problem is especially prevalent on college campuses.
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This is an extreme problem that campuses should be fighting to change. The attitudes of the students are most likely the hardest change that needs to be made. Research done by Kristen N. Jozkowski, a professor at the University of Arkansas, reveals that many people believe silence means yes. On the other hand, women who come right out and say they want sex can be viewed as sluts, and many believe that it is the man’s job to initiate sex (Wilson, 2015). Drugs and alcohol can further this sexual ambiguity, leaving both partners unclear of each other’s
Sexual assault is defined by the department of justice 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 attempted rape. Women aged 18-24, in college, are three times greater at risk than the average woman any age. (RAINN). The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has 246 ongoing investigations into how 195 colleges and universities handled sexual assault under Title IX. (Huffington Post). Many ask, Why on college campuses? Why have these statistics been rising? For a rapist or an assaulter, college is
The film The Hunting Ground focuses on sexual assault and rape on college campuses. This film presented rape culture, specifically for those in college. While not actually surprising, there are several things presented in the video which show the existence of rape culture and how this affects people on college campus. I was not surprised by how the fact that the assault cases in the video turned out the way they did, however, I was upset and angry by all these cases, especially if sports were involved. The story about Jameis Winston was one of the most unsettling stories.
Every year seniors graduating high school in today’s society eagerly await the responses from college admissions departments from across the United States hoping to read these three words you’ve been excepted! Even though each individual prospective college student has spent countless hours planning their college experience which includes their newfound Independence from their parents, new friends, parties, sororities, fraternities, and lastly their classes. Throughout this process the overwhelming excitement coupled with being naïve these prospective academics haven’t thought about sexual assault on College campuses or possibly becoming the victim of sexual assault most importantly the reality that regardless of a students age, ethnicity,
Sexual assault and rape among college campuses has been an ongoing issue across the nation for decades. In the state of Utah, this complex issue will not have a simple solution, but measures can be taken to prevent sexual assault and rape occurring on campuses. Utah Valley University is a campus that is taking considerably impressive measures to combat sexual assault, which will be a basis of this paper. Through university sex education, stricter laws and enforcement, and providing on-campus services to students, cases of sexual assault and rape in the higher level education setting will decrease, and students will be more likely to report these crimes.
Hookup culture on college campuses, most likely, is why there is such a panic over sexual assault (“The Campus”). This example suggests that college campuses do not have an issue with rape, but an issue with their students hooking up on a regular basis without having an actual relationship. This creates bigger issues like confusion in communication and misreading of body language. To conclude, “yes means yes” policies do not need to be put in place as all consent should be considered affirmative and it institutes the idea that rape culture is an issue, when in reality it is just hookup
Many teens enter college expecting a different atmosphere from what they had in high school, but in reality they may have more to worry about than they originally thought. Although the number of cases of sexual assault on college campuses has decreased since 1993 it is still a relevant topic. 5% of women, every year, on college campuses experience rape or attempted rape as reported by One in Four, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of rape. 11% of women who experience rape actually report it to the police; most sworn campus law enforcement officials
Sexual assault is defined as any vaginal, oral, or anal penetration that is forced upon another, regardless of sex and sexual orientation, using any object or body part. The issue of sexual assault in America is primarily encouraged by rape culture. Women Against Violence Against Women is an organization that defines rape culture as a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. The acceptance of rape culture, rape myths, and the disregard for sexual consent also allow for the perpetuation of sexual assault against women on college campuses. Recent examples of sexual assault on college campuses show how prominent this issue has become and how hostile campuses have become for female students. Some examples include the University of Southern California’s “Gullet Report,” Miami University of Ohio’s “Top Ten Ways to Get Away with Rape,” and a sexual assault on the campus of Kansas University. Sexual assault is perpetuated by the acceptance of rape myths and rape culture, lack of effective sexual education, and the disregard for consent. The solution to this issue lies with defeating rape culture, increasing awareness and funding for campus sexual assault crisis centers, and enacting more prevention programs on campus.
"College campuses can give you a sense of security- a feeling that everyone knows each other and watches out for one another. There are predators who take advantage of this feeling of safety and security to commit act of sexual violence" ("Staying safe on campus"). According to RAINN, every 98 seconds a person from the U.S. is sexually assaulted. The possibly of the victim being a female in college is four times greater than any other age group. Although there are sexual assaults reported on campuses, increased awareness about the situation to college students and making new restrictions on alcohol use are steps colleges can take to prevent this incident from occurring on campuses.
Rape has always been a sensitive subject, but there is a certain kind of rape that is affecting college campuses at an alarming rate. Date rape is rape committed by someone with whom the victim has gone on a date with. Date rape has been a coined term for a while, but the increasing number of reported date rapes on college campuses involving college students has increased through the years. The definition of date rape has stirred up quite a buzz. A leading cause of date rape is considered voluntary or involuntary consent to people. Universities across the nation struggle with how to handle the alarming statistics of college date rape. Many universities have instituted surveys and educational courses for their students to be aware of date rape.
Something that colleges can do to significantly reduce the amount of sexual assaults on campuses is to ban alcohol and drugs. Think about it, they can make people more aggressive and make them more likely to do something they wouldn't otherwise do, and women become more vulnerable when they consume drugs and/or alcohol. Also, using alcohol and drugs can impair one’s judgement, decision making, and dull their senses. Not being under the influence in social situations makes people more aware of their surroundings and are more likely to make better decisions than if they were under the influence. So, all colleges should implement a Zero Tolerance policy when it comes to drugs and alcohol. If a student is caught with either, they should be expelled
Sexual assault has been a huge issue for many years on college campuses and universities nation wide. As society has evolved, thoughts on sexual assault have also evolved, becoming more focused on the details of victim treatment than ever before. The topic of sexual assault is debatable and sparks many opinions on weather sexual assault on college campuses is becoming more frequent, or if there is just heightened awareness. Sexual assault can happen to anybody no matter the gender, race, religion, or age. Recently there have been many studies conducted on sexual violence on college campuses and universities producing ample amounts of statistics. One may argue that sexual assault rates are the same, but there are simply more studies and attention on sexual assault in the past 20 years. Gender roles have played a huge part in sexual assault on college campuses. Women and men have different expectations when it comes to roles in the relationship, men are often expected to make the first move. One may ask what causes a perpetrator to sexually harass somebody and think it is acceptable. There are various reasons as to why perpetrators do what they do, and may vary from person to person. Although sexual violence is a large problem for many colleges and universities, there is a surprising shortage of federal laws/rules and regulations regarding sexual assault. Colleges are able to develop their own personal policies and procedures for how they will prevent and deal with sexual
Sexual assault on college campuses is a growing epidemic. Twenty five percent of college women are affected by sexual assault (A. Amar, T. Strout, S. Simpson, M. Cardiello, & S. Beckford, 2014, p. 93). Sexual assault is the non- consensual sexual touching of a person, in which a person is forced to engage in a sexual act against their will. Taking advantage of a person sexually is morally wrong, and causes victims of sexual assault significant emotional and physical damage. Sexual assault is a big issue because it is destroying the lives of college students. No one, that is, attending college, and has their whole life in front of them should ever have to experience trauma from such an act and have their whole future compromised because of it. But the problem is that the majority of the victims of sexual assault don’t report it. So what solutions are there to prevent sexual assault? Sexual assault on college campuses can be managed by enforcing a strict no alcohol policy on college campuses, so that it can not be used as a weapon by rapists. Sexual assault can also be thwarted through sexual assault prevention workshops to educate students and staff about the issue, and through the college administration, reporting sexual assault to local authorities, so that the legal consequences of sexual assault can be implemented. Out of the three preventative measures, having the administration report sexual assault to local authorities is more effective, because the crimes are
When colleges and universities are constantly in competition with each other for students, there are certain issues that occur. Competition has turned into universities and colleges often mishandling sexual assault and rape cases. Campuses want to minimize the danger that they may pose which leads to sexual assault and rape crimes to often be veiled. With this veil in place, it counters the efforts of colleges and universities to address the issue of sexual assault and rape. In July 2016, a survey was released to 350 colleges and university presidents. The purpose of this survey was to showcase whether sexual assault and rape cases were handled correctly or mishandled. Over the last five years, “more than 40 percent of the schools had not conducted a sexual assault and/or rape investigation” (citation). It was revealed that
In the last few years, the issue of sexual assault on college campuses have been gaining popularity in the public. Campus sexual assault have been a recurring subject throughout history and it seems to only get bigger. People would think that college campuses will be safe due to the advance security on the campus. Hundreds of women and men are sexually assaulted on campus everyday. Many organizations have started to form in order to help victims and prevent such tragic, heinous acts from happening on campus. One of the organization that have been providing assistance to sexual assault victims is called End Rape on Campus. They are usually referred to as EROC. They are a type of organization that tries to provide more resources and
The alarming increase in sexual assault among male and female students is a source of concern. Despite improvements in the general statistics on rape cases, the college setting remains to be the hot bed of sexual assault, especially among the female counterparts (Allen, 2007). A victim, regardless being a male or a female, never feel safe in their life as something precious was taken from them once. Statistics show that 17.6% of women are likely to be victims of rape in their entire lifetime while only 0.3% of males are estimated to be the victims of sexual assault. According to the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS), the most critical ages men and females are likely to be engaged in sexual abuse is when they are children or adolescents (Gonzales, Schofield & Schmitt, 2006).