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Gender-based violence in today's society
Critically discuss five human rights that are infringed upon in incidents of gender based violence
Gender-based violence in today's society
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It will come as a surprise to very few that the North American society we live in, raise our kids within, and work in is primarily founded on a patriarchal system of rule. We live in a society where political and social power is held by men, and women are reduced to an inferior position. Within this patriarchal system, key issues like sexual assault and rape are swept under the rug. Male sexual violence is normalized, with society blaming the victims of sexual assault and engaging in slut-shaming, objectifying women, and misogynistic language. This rape culture exists in society at large today, but in this paper I will explore the depth at which it occurs on university campuses and the lack of institutional action taken by authorities to address …show more content…
the issue. As more media attention has been placed on the prevalence of sexual assault through movements like #MeToo and Time’s Up, it is important to focus on protecting and empowering young women and destroying sexist norms, especially present at highly-respected institutions. University campuses permit a strong rape culture; among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females experience rape or sexual assault. It places young women in a situation where they are too scared to report the assault, and even if they do, statements are concealed by the university. According to an investigation conducted by the Department of Education, many universities were found to be underreporting the rate of on-campus sexual violence and “many continue to view rape and sexual assault as a public relations issue rather than a safety issue”. Some women are forced to attend the same campus, even the same classes, as their attackers. To tackle rape culture present within universities I will argue that administration needs to take corrective action through stricter regulations on sexual assault and by establishing transparency to the public. They need to be open about what it is happening and create an environment where women are comfortable reporting, knowing their statement will be taken seriously, and regulations enforced. Being open about the prevalence of sexual assault is the only way to identify its root causes and work to prevent them. A good course of action would be for universities to implement rape culture courses to raise awareness. Rape culture in university is unacceptable, but university administration not taking action to address it is inexcusable. In this paper I will examine the rape culture present in universities by looking at prominent cases of sexual assault at universities such as the cases of Brock Turner and the University of Ottawa’s Facebook Group. Then I will examine the Department of Education’s investigation into the underreporting of universities and the reasons why universities do not take action, such as protecting their reputation and the offenders. I will then offer a recommendation for universities to implement harsher guidelines and a sexual assault task force to tackle the issue of on-campus assault. Colleges and universities are said to be the best four years of your life and sell us a story of “trust, love, and safety” which we buy into with our “tuition dollars and our hearts”.
However, at the heart of university campuses exists an invisible rape culture that manifests itself in cases of sexual assault on campus. The case of Brock Turner highlights this widespread existence of sexual violence on campus as well the justice system’s inclination to conceal the issue. In the case, former Stanford University swimmer Brock Turner was sentenced to six months in jail after being convicted of sexually assaulting an unconscious, intoxicated woman. This case gained widespread attention because of the light sentence Turner received, despite the unanimous verdict and evidence. The prosecutor argued that Turner was aware that the woman was drunk and knowingly took advantage of her, and that Turner was “the face of campus sexual assault”. This shows the prevalence of sexual assault at university as the incident took place on campus, and the offender was a student of Stanford University. Turner himself blamed the alcohol and party culture of today’s college campuses for the sexual assault. This is significant because he felt that the campus rape culture permitted him to act as he did and he should not be punished for acting according to campus norms, which shows the deep-rooted issue that students are unaware that the culture that exists is harmful to women and sexual assault should not be excused under any circumstances. Students engage in acts that perpetuate the system and then blame the rape culture present for their actions, instead of taking responsibility. The rape culture also reduces the severity of sexual assault as despite his actions, Turner “failed to exhibit remorse or responsibility for his conduct”. The survivor also called out the university and justice system for protecting Brock Turner because he was an athlete at a prestigious university. She
stated that “the fact that Brock was an athlete at a private university should not be seen as an entitlement to leniency, but as an opportunity to send a message that sexual assault is against the law regardless of social class”. Sexual assault that occurs on a university campus should not be overlooked just because it happens at the university, a prestigious institution, or that it involves students with bright futures; in fact, it should be taken more seriously for these reasons. Another point of controversy was Turner’s father’s letter to the court. He pleaded his son be given no jail time for his actions as the sentence would be “too harsh” and that Brock’s life will “never be the one that he dreamed about.. that is a steep price to pay for twenty minutes of action”. His statement alone is a testament to the rape culture present in North America. Boys’ lives and their futures are valued more than the safety of women’s bodies. Rape is not even seen as an invasion of a women’s body and a non-consensual act, but just “20 minutes of action”. This greatly reduces the value of women as objects to use for men’s pleasure. This is evident of the sexual contract in society that Carole Pateman emphasizes, which contributes to the subjection and domination of women. There is an assumption of male sex right ascertaining that men have access to women’s bodies , especially in the private sphere where women’s role is said to be for men’s sexual pleasure and with no autonomy or freedom over their own body. It is a contract that is not freely entered into, but an oppression of women that has always existed and one that men do not question as that is the only way they see women fitting into a patriarchal structure of power. Women are exploited through sexual assault as their bodies are used by men and it makes them feel as if they are subordinate to men and regarded as having less value and just there to be used by men. This sexual contract can be seen with respect to sexual assault on campus as males assume that they have access to women’s bodies, as Brock Turner did, and that is why he does not have remorse for his actions and his father feels that he should not be punished, because both fundamentally ascribe to the sexual contract and rape culture of men dominating women as a norm. The judge’s reasoning for the light sentence was he believed more jail time would have a “severe impact on the life and future of Turner”. His statement and decision seem to altogether ignore the life and future of the victim of rape, only placing focus on what is best for the male and his aspirations. The district attorney criticized the length of the sentence as not factoring “in the true seriousness of sexual assault or victim’s ongoing trauma. Campus rape is no different than off-campus rape. Rape is rape”. His statement supports my argument that campus rape should be taken just as seriously as rape off-campus, and that rape in general as violating a woman’s body is not taken seriously enough as shown by lack of jail time that Turner received for his actions. Another incident of university campus sexual assault occurred at the University of Ottawa. The case involved a Facebook group consisting of five male University of Ottawa students that targeted student leader Anne-Marie Roy. In their chat they spoke of sexual activities they would like to engage in with Roy such as oral sex, and “punishing her with their shaft”. The men threatened Roy with legal action if she published the conversation as it was a private chat and the “content of conversation between friends promotes values that have no place in society and campus”. Their response is noteworthy because it seems to assume that such conversations of sexual violence toward women may not be appropriate for the public but are acceptable in private. This is a misconception and contributes to the invisible rape culture as the comments and their attitudes should have no place in society at all, public or private. One of the men stated that “there’s a lot of boys’ talk and locker room talk that can seem normal at the time, but then when you actually look back at it, it can be offensive”. The locker-room talk is typical of universities and seen as a male-bonding ritual, but it is offensive to women. Words are not just words, as they foster a rape culture that leads to an acceptance of the degradation of women and sexual assault against them. This incident has shown that rape culture is clearly prevalent on Canadian campuses through the sexual remarks made by the male students and their attitudes toward women. Rape culture is present on these campuses and perpetuated by students themselves. This incident demonstrates the need for universities to have a more open discussion about how students talk about each other, even in private. Something said in private does not necessarily remain in the private sphere, as it is interrelated to the public sphere and views that society holds about women and attitudes toward sexual assault. There needs to be more conversation about the behaviour and demeaning comments made towards women, especially in a university setting. These comments and rape culture contribute to the oppression of women. As Iris Young argues, oppression is systemic institutional processes which prevent people from learning and exercising their skills. The rape culture in university and lack of action taken to address it oppresses women as it prevents them from learning in a safe environment and developing their education. This contributes to the ‘Five Faces of Oppression’ such as exploitation, marginalization, powerlessness, and violence. Women as a group on campus are oppressed due to their membership as women; their bodies are exploited for sexual pleasure; they are marginalized as young women are seen as emotional and reports are not taken seriously;
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).
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.
In Rape in the Fields, the issue of sexual assault and harassment in the farm industry
Sexual assault and rape on college campuses is a serious public issue. Before applying to these accredited institutions most students do not look up the school 's past records of sexual assault and rape on their campus.College campuses have failed to keep students safe the system they use has failed to protect and obtain justice for those that have been victims of sexual assault. Society plays a huge part in how young adults view sexual assault. From young age girls are told “if he’s bothering you it 's because he likes you”, and boys aren 't held accountable for their actions because “boys will be boys”. At what time does it stop being a game. At what age is it not acceptable for boys to mistreat girls, when is the line drawn and, what is the punishment for when this line is crossed.
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.
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
From a very young age children have been taught by their parents that girls do one thing while guys do another. The reason for this is because our parents have been taught by their parents who were taught by their parents and so on and so fourth. When talking to most people about gender roles, they will start to see a pattern in the way they responses they receive, which will leave them with a good idea about how our society has formed the ideas and roles of sexes. Rape culture in modern day society is real and the biggest factors that contribute to it are we have been taught that boys need to grow up tough, girls need to be careful of some men, and that women need to be able to take care of a man and his needs. This way is poisonous to the
The year of 2016 has been a terrifying year for feminists, women, men, children, and students in America. On CNN.com, it was reported that on September 2nd, 2016, sexual predator Brock Turner was released from prison after serving 3 months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious female behind a dumpster. Following his release, an uproar of people began protesting outside of his home, many of whom were outraged with the sentence he received, and even more so, the time in prison he completed. With the potential to be in jail for 14 years, he was sentenced to 6 months because the judge of the case took Turner “at his word”. On the morning of November 9th,2016, it was announced worldwide that Donald Trump had become America’s President-elect,
About one in four women are victims of sexual assault in college, but there are ways to prevent this problem. The consequences of sexual assault are harmful and long-lasting and affect not only the victims but also their families and communities. Solutions to this problem _______. But, as Richard Edwards, chancellor of Rutgers-New Brunswick college said, “Regardless of the number, it’s a major problem, affecting our students and people all across the country and it has to be taken seriously” (5). If people work together, the steps can be taken to stop sexual assault in colleges.
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.
They insist that these rapes are isolated incidents, and most certainly have nothing to do with an attitude prevalent on campuses everywhere. Rapes, to them, are simply the result of drunken college students making poor judgements. “It was an unfortunate mistake,” they say. However, a quick study of the evidence shows that defence to be completely false. There is overwhelming evidence that most rapes are premeditated. Lisak says that most, contrary to popular belief, don’t stem from “mixed signals” or “dates gone bad”. Nine out of ten campus rapes are perpetrated by serial rapists. He himself admits to having previously harboured what he calls a “naive schema” that these numbers “may be true about crime in the community or crime in the military but surely university students are different. Turns out they’re not. But it’s a mental step to understand that there are a small number of repeat sex offenders who enroll in universities just as there are sex offenders in the military” (“Myths”). The simple fact that the majority of rapists are repeat offenders indicates a flawed mentality. One rape could possibly be a lapse in judgement, but two? For multiple rapes, the perpetrator has to believe his actions are okay. Nine out of ten rapists believeing their actions are okay indicates a prevalent, flawed mentality; one that universities fail to recognize. Progress cannot be made because universities are too afraid of damaging their reputation to even acknowledge rape
The collection of publications in Transforming a Rape Culture discusses the role that power, sexuality, gender, and race play in our society. Buchwald, Fletcher, and Roth seek to change the world that we live in to a world without rape. A rape culture is a “complex of beliefs that encourages male sexual aggression and supports violence against women” (Buchwald, Fletcher, & Roth, 2005, p. xi). In a rape culture male and female stereotypes are accepted, such as “men are expected to provide financially and women are expected to provide emotionally” (Buchwald et al., 2005, p. 133). This book is targeted towards undergraduate and graduate students, as well as counselors, clinicians, and social workers.