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Racial discrimination in the united states criminal justice system
Racial discrimination in the united states criminal justice system
Introduction of racial bias in the criminal justice system
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Walking in the dark rapidly so no one sees you, being nervous when in a company of a man alone, and knowing that your safety can be in jeopardy at any moment. If that doesn’t sound familiar to you, then consider yourself lucky. Women across the globe have these fears or at least have had them once in their lives. Imagine going through a traumatic experience such as rape, and being blamed for it, unfortunately it’s not an imagination, but a reality in the rape culture we live in. Police asking rape survivors what were they wearing when they got raped isn’t new, our culture blames the victim instead of prosecuting the assaulter. According to Criminal Defense Lawyer, Rape is illegal in the United States, and can be punished from a year to lifetime
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
Rape Shield Laws Facing with much criticism from women’s group with the legal definitions of rape and how rape cases are being processed in the legal system, the government is forced to pass a Rape Law reform in the 1970s. Rape law reform urging courts to treat rape case the same as other crimes, rape law reforms modified traditional rape laws and ratified evidentiary reforms in every state in the United States. The most common and widespread changes occurred in three areas. First, rape was redefined so that there was no longer a single crime of rape.
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
One of the most horrible things that has erupted from the subjugation of women is rape culture. Rape culture is the downplaying of the crime of rape to appease the violator, the accusation that the victim made a choice that led to their rape, or even jokes that suggest rape. According to Jessica Valenti’s, “In Rape Tragedies, the Shame Is Ours,” in today's world many people give in to rape culture by participating in these acts that somehow change our mindsets into believing that, “it is more shameful to be raped than to be a rapist”. Once ...
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
One of the most common misconceptions about rape is that is it committed by strangers most of the time. However, this is not the case. Date rape is an epidemic affecting tens of thousands of people across the world at staggering rates. The rape stereotype in our culture today is a jumping out of the shadows type of rape. Most people think that when someone is raped either their house is broken into and they are attacked, they are kidnapped, or something along those lines. Actually, 84% of women know their attacker (Hammond). This can become problematic for our society because victims are looking out for an attack that most likely will not take place, while ignoring assaults that are far more likely.
According to the SACHA Sexual Assault Center, rape culture involves everyday phenomena that “make violence against women and sexual coercion seem so normal that people believe that rape is inevitable” (“What is rape culture,” n.d.). Common examples of rape culture include: telling women to always travel in groups at night, asking survivors what they were wearing or if they were drinking during the time of the assault, and ignoring or stigmatizing males who are sexually assaulted (Ray, 2013). On college campuses, rape culture can contribute to the underreporting of sexual assaults, as survivors may be ashamed or afraid of humiliation. Furthermore, the presence of rape myths perpetuates the overall rape culture by shaping public opinion towards blaming survivors and discounting the actions of offenders. Largely cited myths, such as women falsely reporting rape to protect their reputations or because they are angry with the accused perpetrator, are based on a kernel of truth that is unrepresentative of the realities surrounding these issues (Burnett et al., 2009). Rape culture is alive and well on college campuses, despite being a broader societal issue. While this socially ingrained behavior is difficult to reverse, universities are major institutions that must accept partial responsibility for the perpetuation of rape culture and consequently need to devise programs for change that circumvent this erroneous
To most Americans Rape has a tendency to be one of the cruelest forms of criminal violence. The victim can suffer from incredible injuries, and substantial amounts of embarrassment. Rendered powerless by physical force, threats, or fear, after which being forced to submit to sexual acts, including vaginal penetration, oral copulation, sodomy, and penetration opening with a foreign object, the victim is left virtually alone. Rape is an intrusion into the most private and intimate parts of the body, as well as an assault on the core of the self. Whether or not the victim acquires any physical injuries, the psychological impact of a sexual assault is severe. Additionally, the painful, post-trauma symptoms that usually always accompany rape are long-lasting. Even the victims who seem to have been able to move on with their life often find that an extreme feeling of powerlessness and vulnerability remains close and can easily, and unexpectedly, be re-experienced. A most important aspect in the long-term impact of rape is that the assault negatively changes the victim...
It is very important that we are invulnerable to rape. Rape can happen to anyone at any time. Rape prevention strategies help to decrease the risk, but the risk never drops to zero percent. In our society of rape myths, gender ideology, and exposure of sex in the media, especially in advertising, and especially when it involves violence, rape will be in our culture for a long time. Our culture promotes this brand of sexuality and we turn our cheeks to rape and any negative form of sex.
Sexual assault is an offense that plagues many U.S. citizens. Although some studies show that rape is on the decline, other studies report that the phenomena actually occuring is that less rape victims are reporting the crime. In fact, approximately 68% of sexual assaults go unreported to the police according to the U.S. Department of Justice in a National Crime Victimization Survey from 2008-2012. It is common knowledge that rape victims are usually severely traumatized after the event, which leaves them susceptible to various emotions such as shame, anxiety, numbness, fear, denial, and guilt. Because of this, many rape victims decide to repress their experience and let it go unheard. However, not only does this prevent them from healing emotionally,
Rape and sexual violence is a very serious problem that affects millions of people each year. Rape is someone taking advantage of another person sexually. Sexual assault can be verbal, physical, visual, or anything that forces a person to join in unwanted sexual contact or attention. ("Sexual Assault.") Rape is one of the most underreported crimes. In 2002, only thirty-nine percent of rapes and sexual assaults were reported to law officials. ("Sexual Violence: Fact Sheet.") Victims sometimes do not report that they have raped because of shame or feeling that it was their fault. It is never the victim's fault. "Victim blaming" is holding the victim of a crime to be in a whole or in partly responsible for what had happened to them. Most victims believe this. ("Myths and Facts about Sexual Violence.")
This is the typical scenario were one would assume a rape to take place. When people think about rape, they usually think of a stranger with a knife hiding in the bushes. He waits for a woman to walk by and then attacks. However this is far from the truth. The majority of victims are raped by individuals they know or who are acquaintances. This type of rape is known as “acquaintance rape.” Eighty percent of all rapes are, in fact, acquaintance rapes. (CallRape) One kind of acquaintance rape is called “date rape,” in which a man and a woman go out on a date together and forces her to have sex when she does not want to. Date rapes typically occur when a woman is alone with a man. If a woman goes to a man's room or apartment, or even get into his car alone, she is vulnerable. Date rapes can also occur when others are relatively close by; for example, they can happen in an upstairs bedroom while fifty people attend a party on the first floor. Most girls don’t think to reach for mace or car keys in these situations. They don’t think about easy escape routes or who’s within shouting distance. We shouldn’t have to. Unfortunately it is an issue that needs to be discussed. Awareness is the most effective weapon women have against this horrible and often unreported crime.
Is anyone truly a stranger to nightmares? Has anyone not woken up in a feverish sweat with a racing pulse or pounding heart? Whose eyes have never wildly searched their room for the phantoms of a dream? Now, what if the familiar consolation of learning it was all in your head never came? How do you wake up from a nightmare that is, in fact, a reality? I think I’m getting ahead of myself. What I mean to say is, I was raped, and rape is a nightmare.
“Rape is a crime that combines sex and violence, that makes sex the weapon in an act of violence.”(Kimmel 257) Because of this, rape is often traumatic for the victim of a rape. Many victims undergo what is known as rape trauma syndrome, “…rape trauma syndrome, consisting of an acute stage, where the primary response is fear, followed by a reorganization stage, characterized by phobias, insomnia, sexual dysfunctions, and major changes in life-style.”(Chandler et al pp. 248) These are some of the psychological side effects that women must endure after the rape. There are also other factors, relating to the individual that effect rape trauma they include, “age, prior sexual experience, ethnicity, and response of significant others to the victim. Factors relating to the sexual assault, such as degree of violence and the relationship between the victim and the assailant also affect trauma.”(Chandler et al pp 249) Overall, is is safe to say that there are many psychological effects of rape that allows women to fear the attack of a rape.
Rape is known as one of heinous crimes a person can commit to someone else. Even though US’s justice system recognizes that rape is a serious threat to women’s physical and mental safety as well as their autonomy, our justice system gravely fails to convict and persecute the perpetrators, making women vulnerable to these sexual crimes. Hence, many women, especially those who are victims of rape, live in fear, which seriously curtails their freedom of movement and confidence in everyday life (Chamallas, 2013). Not only our justice system fails to protect women from rape, but also our society’s skeptical attitude towards rape severely affects rape victims to come forward or report their terrible experiences. The general public views rape as a myth rather than as a fact, and believes that women cry rape just to get public attention, sympathy, and compensation from the perpetrators. Even if the rape did happen, most people still blame women for being irresponsible. Due to the lack of our justice system in convicting rapists and our society’s misconception of rape, the conviction rate of rape is very low even though it is a common crime in our country.