Jennifer Butler
Mr. Hansen
Composition 1
November 27, 2016
Sexual Assault on College Campus In America, sexual assault is increasing on campuses. Colleges and Universities are insanely lenient with the policies of sexual assault and misconduct. Undergraduates get the worse since they are new and don’t expect it to happen to them. Date rape drugs are being used more often than any other type of assault. Over half of victims don’t report the assault, because they don’t believe it’s critical enough. Others never get justice for the crimes the rapist commits. “A relatively small percentage of students believe it is very or extremely likely they will experience sexual assault or misconduct. A larger percentage of students believe that sexual assault
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“Nonconsensual sexual contact involving drugs and alcohol constitute a significant percentage of the incidents” (AAU). Gamma Hydroxybutyrate(GHB) or Rohypnol are the best-known date rape drugs. Most women don’t report the assault or rape because they don’t think that their claim is reliable since they were drinking and have no remembrance of what occurred to them. Club drugs are also common date rape drugs for college students that party a lot. Ecstasy and Methamphetamines are the most frequent and familiarized drugs associated with date rape in clubs and/or around campus parties. “A 2006 study funded by the National Institute of Justice found that of the estimated 100,000 sexual assaults reported in the United States each year, about 62 percent were “drug-facilitated” and 5 percent of victims were given date-rape drugs” (INVW). When asking women about the assaults and getting drugged most wouldn’t be able to understand what happened or they don’t realize it in time to get tested. “GHB is also a sexual stimulant, so perpetrators will often later say that the woman accusing them of assault is the one who initiated the sexual encounter. Later, the woman may not be able to piece together what happened to her in time to get herself tested” (INVW). This is not the only traumatizing thing these people dealt with while being in
Jade does not receive adequate treatment from her counselor when reporting a recent sexual assault. Her integrity is questioned, and the counselor advises her to forget the incident ever happened. The rapist receives no punishment or consequences for his actions. Cases similar to this hypothetical situation occur regularly. Victims of sexual assault often resort to dropping their cases due to the lack of support and services offered by the college. Students continue to fight for the fair treatment of everyone on campus. The problem with reporting sexual assault during college lies in the unfair treatment of the victims and the limited consequences and punishment for the rapist. Colleges have attempted to lower
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
"Introduction to Sexual Assault on Campus: Opposing Viewpoints." Sexual Assault on Campus. Ed. Jack Lasky. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven Press, 2016. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 17 Oct. 2016.
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.
Sexual Assault on college campuses is a national epidemic. Most colleges aren’t doing anything about it. Brown University finally stood up and is in the process of doing something. They are setting an example for what other schools should be doing, especially being an ivy league. Education is a powerful tool and it should be used to educate students on what consent is and how to be an appropriate bystander. Sexual assault on college campuses is a problem that will take a long time to solve, but the ending must start
“Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault” (RAINN). Rape is a threat virtually anywhere people go, but no place has a higher risk for sexual assault than college campuses. However, many of these occurrences go without penalties against the attacker, and even more are not reported at all. The lack of consequences for the accused indirectly suggests that rape and other forms of sexual assault are allowable and create further problems for the victims of the horrendous actions. Harsher punishments need to be given out for sexual assault on campus, as the current rulings are biased and immoral.
College girls are the most at risk for rape. One major factor why, is the drinking of alcohol while at parties. The majority of rapes that happen on and off campus, are considered “party rape”. Party rape is when women are plied with alcohol for the purpose of taking sexual advantage, or an intoxicated women is targeted with sexual advances. Rape at
Over the past decade, sexual assault on college campuses has been overlooked due to failed communication from the victims of the attack, which also allowed many schools around the world to become oblivious to the epidemic. A survey commissioned by the “Association of American Universities” brought forth results which were released in September 2015, stating that more than 27.2 % of female college seniors reported having experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact entering college. The dynamics of college life seems to fuel the problem; many are abused while they are under the influence of drugs or otherwise incapacitated. Most victims are assaulted
As stated by an article from Bettercolleges.com, sexual assault can also involve forcing someone into non-consensual sexual acts by means of manipulation, any form of coercion, or psychological force. Sexual violence is more prevalent on college campuses compared to other crimes. In fact, according to Rainn.org college women are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted as they are to be robbed. The sad reality is that these victim’s voices are often never heard: only 5 percent of female student victims between the ages of 18 and 24 ever report to law enforcement because of factors such as distrust of authorities and fear of blame (“Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics”). In regard to male victims, they oftentimes face different types of stigma branching from issues such as stereotypes about hyper masculinity, sexual desire, and what it means to “be a man” in society, preventing them from reporting unwanted sexual activity (“Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus”). In the cases of both men and women, these assaults are often enhanced by the increased presence of alcohol and drugs on campuses. For instance, one study found that 15 percent of young women experienced incapacitated rape during their first year of college, meaning that when were raped when they could not give consent because they did not know what was happening (“Sexual Assault on College Campuses”). Peer pressure to participate in these types of social activities puts victims in a more vulnerable position for sexual assault. This environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused by leaders within the school system is known as rape
Colleges and universities often do not execute strict punishments when it comes to sexual assault on campus. The police, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and juries do not always view date rape as a serious offense (Neumann). Until government officials consider rape a significant violation when compared to other major crimes, colleges and universities will not establish sterner punishments for rapists. Colleges and universities also tend to diminish their punishments for the “star” athletes at the school. One study concluded that while athletes constitute 3.3% of the college population, they perpetrate 19% of all sexual assaults on campus (Ajo). Although male athletes commit multiple sexual assault crimes on campus, they are punished leniently. Researchers contend that when sexual assault crimes are committed by athletes, society fails to label the act a crime and does not impose harsh sanctions (Ajo). In fact, many boosters come to the defense of the team they so love (Ajo). In order to discourage college students from committing sexual assault crimes, harsher punishments need to be set in place. If the consequences for students’ actions intensified, the number of sexual assault cases executed on college campuses would decrease. Rape needs to be considered a serious offense in order for victims of sexual assault cases to attain
Sexual assault and rape are serious social and public health issues in the United States and throughout the rest of the world. In particular sexual assault on college campus are prevalent at an alarming rate and leaves serious effects on the victims. This essay will focus on statistics and the prevalence and effects amongst college students, through examining a number of reasons why women fail to report sexual assault and rape. This essay will also cover sexual assault prevention and things that can be done to mitigate the risk of becoming a victim to such matter.
Today, for college students, there are many causes and risks that lead to sexual victimization. These include; the usage of alcohol and drugs, prior victimization, lack of cases being reported, and the factors go on. According to RAINN, Statistics show that “about two out of three sexual assaults are committed by an attacker that the victims
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
Sexual assault on college campuses is a subject that comes up commonly in media today, usually due to the fact that these assaults happen on a regular basis. About one in four women and one in seven men are victims of some form of sexual violence during their college experience (Abooali). In most occurances when speaking about sexual assault on campus, people are talking about what the main cause of these cases of sexual assault could be, and if there is any way to prevent it from happening. There are many factors that play into these sexual assaults such as alcohol consumption, peer pressure, society's normalization of these assaults, and party culture.
As college becomes a more popular and available option for many people in today’s society, problems around sexual assault are on the rise across the country. The millennial generation are going to schools dubbed as “party schools” in droves in hopes to get an education while also fine tuning their partying/ drinking skills. In the news there are many stories coming to light about date-rape drugs, parties gone wrong, or simply cases where the offender “didn’t know” that she actually meant no. The articles assigned with this topic sparked thoughts and opened my eyes to facts and statistics that I found particularly surprising.