An Assessment of College Students’ Attitudes and Empathy Toward Rape
Methods:
The study is a descriptive cross-sectional survey implemented to assess students' attitudes toward rape and empathy toward survivors of rape. A pilot study using 30 college students with a two-week interval was used to establish reliability of the ATR and RES. Subject's birth day, month, and first three digits of their phone numbers were used as identifiers for the retest portion of the pilot study. A two-tailed t test was performed comparing test scores across the 2-week interval. Statistical analysis found a 1.0 correlation for demographic data, .91 alpha reliability coefficient for the ATR, and a .80 alpha reliability coefficient for the RES. Therefore, the ATR and RES were deemed reliable for the study.
Purpose:
The purpose of this study is to assess rape attitudes and empathy levels of college students in a selected university setting in North Texas.
Sample:
A total sample of 300 subjects was needed to ensure representation within a confidence interval of 95% and .05 sampling error. The sample was drawn from the following courses: from the College of Business Administration, the course "Principles of Real Estate" provided 107 subjects; from the College of Arts and Sciences, the course "U.S. History to 1865" provided 89 students; from the College of Education, "Family Life/Human Sexuality" and "Health Emergency/First Aid" were selected, providing 110 subjects.
Hypotheses:
1. Students who either have known a rape survivor or have themselves been a survivor of rape, will express more rape-intolerant attitudes toward rape and greater empathy levels toward rape survivors than students who have not known a rape survivor or have been the survivor of a rape.
2. Students with female siblings will report more rape-intolerant attitudes toward rape and greater empathy toward rape survivors than students without female siblings.
3. Female students will have more rape-intolerant attitudes toward rape and greater empathy levels toward rape survivors than those of their male counterparts.
4. Students over the age of twenty-six will demonstrate more rape-intolerant attitudes and greater empathy levels toward rape survivors than the students under the age of twenty-six.
Variables:
The dependent variables are attitudes toward rape and empathy toward rape ...
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...homosexuals.
Implications:
In future research, it is recommended more exploration of the parameters of men's reactions to female-initiated coercion. A major question raised by this study is how forceful does a situation have to be before men respond negatively to female sexual coercion. This could be answered in a study in which the vignettes are varied by high levels of force. It is speculated that men's responses would also be influenced by sexual outcome of the situation (e.g., oral sex or intercourse) and physical appearance of the initiator (e.g., attractive or unattractive). Because the present study indicated that both men and women anticipate high psychological harm from a same-gender advance, the dynamics of these interactions should also be investigated by further vignette research.
Limitations:
The major limitation of the present study is that it assessed reactions to hypothetical coercion situations, not actual incidents. Whether victims' reactions to actual coercion will parallel findings of this study can only be determined by more research. However, the present study may serve as a source of ideas, variables and proposed relationships for future investigations.
When university or police find out about the sexual assault, they immediately blame the victim or question what the victim was wearing, drinking, or doing. “Brownmiller identified four basic rape myths: (1) All women want to be raped; (2) a woman cannot be raped against her will; (3) a woman who is raped is asking for it; and (4) if a woman is going to be raped, she might as well enjoy it” (Helgeson, 2012, p. 432). In The Hunting Ground, the rape myth, which a woman who is raped is asking for it, is seen throughout the testimonies of the survivors. Clark, herself, was told by her dean that “rape is like a football game” and asked if “looking back, what would you have done differently?” (Ziering & Dick, 2015). These rape myths affect how many victims actually report and how seriously sexual assaults are taken within universities and the justice system. For example, some women, themselves, subscribe to rape myths because they see how current cases are handled. “Women who did not physically fight off the person who raped them and who subscribed to the rape myth that “it can’t be rape if a woman doesn’t fight back” were less likely to acknowledge that they had been raped” (Helgeson, 2012, p. 434). Universities need to teach first-year students about consent and how to
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
In what is sure to be a very solemn matter for all American students and their families across the country , in January 2013 , President Obama, the office of the Vice President and the White House Council on Women and Girls converged and issued a renewed call to action against rape and sexual assault report which analyzes the most recent reliable data about this issue and identifies who are the most in peril victims of this malefaction, investigates the costs of this violence both for victims and communities , and describes the replication very often inadequate of the US malefactor equity system.
A. Background Information: The next four years of the students’ lives after high school mark the moment they become independent. Because of the freedom, college students are more susceptible to careless actions like drinking, doing drugs, and even committing sexualt assualt. Sexual assault has been around for years and the actions to prevent this heinous crime has been minimal, especially in colleges and universities. In 2015, Brock Turner, a student from Stanford, sexually assaulted a young woman on campus. Turner claimed that because he was drinking, was with friends, and saw a “promiscuous” female student, that pressured him into committing such a heinous crime. This was because Stanford University didn’t teach its students sexual assault prevention which caused the victim to be harm and violated. By teaching college students about sexual assault prevention, it decreases the number of sexual assault cases on campus, prevents psychological damage to the victim’s mental state, and educates other students to know the signs
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
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
To date, “between 10 to 40 percent of female students [. . .] have been raped while [. . .] up to 60 percent of males students [have] commit[ed] actions that meet the legal definition of sexual assault” (Bretz 19). This percentage demonstrates the ineffectiveness of university policies and signifies a drastic change to procedures is in order if educational institutions want to see improvement. In order to see an effective change, policies must “explicitly define key terms such as “‘consent’, ‘force’ [,]‘incapacity’ and cover [a] range of sexually violent behavior” (Gunraj 9). Furthermore, since the age of fourteen 58.7% of females “ha[ve] experienced one or more forms of victimization[. . .] 35.0% ha[ve] experienced at least one completed or attempted rape and 23.5% ha[ve] been raped” (Senn et. al. Results). First-year female students are not prepared for the perpetrators they will face on campus, and as a result, are more vulnerable to sexual violence. Universities need to develop effective policies and procedures to not only prepare women for the challenges they may face but to reduce the overall number of sexual assaults and make school a safer environment for
In "Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture" Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade analyze the social perspective of the gendered relations in male fraternities that add to the high rate of violence against women on many college campuses. They list a host of factors that distinguish higher-risk from lower-risk atmospheres discussing the rates of rape in colleges and state how "1 out of 4 college women say they were raped or experienced an attempted rape" (217). Additionally, "1 out of 12 college men say they forced a woman to have sexual intercourse against her will" (Boswell, Spade 217). In other words Boswell and Spade indicated that the rates were high when it came down to women getting raped in colleges by men who also attended those colleges. In addition, Boswell and Spade specify in how most people are aware of rape but know very little about rape culture (Boswell, Spade 217).
...l of the education I have described for women. Rape is not the women's fault. Because of this, I believe that men should also have to go through a date rape awareness program. In order for acquaintance rape percentages to fall, "men must be portrayed as part of the solution, not just the source of the problem, of date rape. Men are effected by rape myths as much as women are. The myths must be clarified and borderlines drawn. If men are included, perhaps miscommunications will decrease and acquaintance rape will not be as frequent. I think it should be a required portion of first-year student orientation. The knowledge should be given out before the students have to use it. At these sessions, counseling numbers should also be distributed in case the are needed during the college years. Women should know that help is always available and where to find it.
A survey from the Association of American Universities of 150,000 students found that more than one in four women experience sexual assault during their four years in college. Over the four year college period, 27.2% of female students are victims of unwanted sexual contact that ranges from touching to rape (6). Sexual assault is far too common and it is an epidemic that faces many students in college. Many students suffer from the consequences of sexual assault, which is a result of many social and cultural deficiencies, but it can be fixed through a multifaceted approach. The problem of sexual assault can be fixed through the education of the community, a positive and helpful school environment, and classes focused on prevention.
It is not a topic that is brought up often, especially at schools or at gatherings, yet it is crucial that everyone be educated, or at least informed on a topic that affects women every day. “Given that sexual violence continues to occur at high rates in the United States, it is vital that we understand attitudes and cultural norms that serve to minimize or foster tolerance of sexual violence” (Aosved, 481). Growing rates of sexual violence goes to prove that it is not taken seriously by many, especially when myths excuse the actions of the perpetrator and instead guilt victims into thinking they are responsible for the horrible act. Burt (1980), in her article titled, “Cultural myths and support for rape” attempts to make sense of the importance of stereotypes and myths, defined as prejudicial, stereotypes, or false beliefs about rape, rape victims and rapists- in creating a climate hostile to rape victims (Burt, 217). Examples of rape myths are such sayings as “only bad girls get raped”; “women ask for it”; “women cry rape” (Burt, 217). This only goes to prove that rape myths against women always blame and make it seem like it is the women’s fault she was raped and that she deserved it for “acting” a certain way. McMahon (2007), in her article titled, “Understanding community-specific rape myths” explains how Lonsway and Fitzgerald (1994) later described rape myths as “attitudes and beliefs that are generally
College campuses are one of the most popular scenes for crimes of rape to occur. A disturbing statistic resea...
Kilpatrick, D. G. (2000). The Mental Health Impact of Rape. Retrieved from National Violenc Against Women Prevention Research Center: http://www.musc.edu/vawprevention/research/mentalimpact.shtml
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...
Some men claim that rape is just sex, however, if a women does not consent to it therefore it is considered rape. Women feel as though all men are rapists or at least contribute in some way to rape. Through this essay Men in Groups: Collective Responsibility for Rape, by Larry May and Robert Strikwerda, argues 4 different reasons of being or contributing to rape: as a loner, or demon, as a victim of biology, a victim of society, and as a group member. Throughout this essay the authors, give reasons to why most men in fact do contribute to the rape, even though they may not physically do the action, their involvement is still relevant. I think that men should indeed be held responsible for rape, and should