A Voice to the Voiceless Visual Arts Major from Colombia University, Emma Sulkowicz was raped on the first day of her sexual year. She was raped on her mattress by a fellow classmate. Infuriated by the lack of recognition and fair punishment from her university, she decided to take matters into her own hands by protesting against sexual violence on her university. She uniquely protested by carrying around the mattress she was raped on to get her rapist kicked from the university, making a statement all across the country. Because of Emma’s bold action was noticed all across the world and sent sparks to the media that sexual assault on campuses is a major issue that is steadily growing. Sexual assault is a serious issue that is overlooked by …show more content…
According to The New York State Coalition against Sexual Assault, at least one in four women will experience sexual assault during their college years. Unfortunately, most of those women report those crimes to the police because of the fear that they will be attacked by their assailant again or ridiculed by the public. Many women find their attack not important enough to report. According to the National Public Radio, many women did not report their attack because they felt the attack was a personal issue, they were afraid of retaliation from their attacker, or they felt as if the police wouldn’t help them send their attacker to …show more content…
The Jeanne Clery Act requires federal funded universities and colleges to report every crime that occurred on campus and file an annual safety report. Most schools are reluctant to report the crimes that occur on campus simply because of the fact of their reputation. Universities fear that their admission application numbers will decrease and therefore lose even more money because of it. To force universities to file annual safety reports, the government should threaten the withdrawal of federal aid if they fail to report the crimes that occur on their campus. With this tactic, universities are pushed to report these crimes so that further actions can be taken and those numbers can be reduced. The Clery Act is beneficial for rape victims because it gives them the opportunity to report their attacker without facing reprisal from their university. If the college fails to include their attack in their report, they can face up to $35,000 in fines, the withdrawal of federal aid and the eligibility in student aid. The Jeanne Clery Act holds universities accountable to bring justice to their victims by reporting their crimes whether it’s damaging to their reputation or
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
“Every 21 hours there is a rape on an American College Campus” (Sexual Violence on College Campuses). Sexual assault is something many have heard of and maybe know someone who was sexually assaulted in their lifetime. Sexual assault and sexual violence has been around for as long as our history books can tell us. With multiple cultural changes and new “fads”, as some may say, of college life; sexual assault has become a sort of recurring phenomenon of college lifestyles. This is not a positive thing and in no way should this be labeled as something good for college campuses. Sexual assault on college campuses should be prosecuted as rape can be falsely accused, non-consensual or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, and is permanently
Laws have been created to help with sexual assault victims for example, Title IX however laws like these are not good enough to keep students protected; schools need additional policies put in place to help keep their students safe. In 1972 Title IX was passed which was a law that “requires gender equity for boys and girls in every educational program that receives federal funding” (History). The law has ten areas in which it protects students and their access to higher education, career education, education for pregnant and parenting students, employment, learning environment, math and science, sexual harassment, standardized testing and technology (History). When dealing with sexual harassment Title IX requires that schools immediately take action to eliminate sexual assault threats as soon as an incident is reported (studentaffaris). The Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, or for short Clery Act is another law that is put in place to protect sexually assaulted victims. ...
Sexual assault is defined 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 In the United States 80% of sexual assault victims are under the age of 30. Of that 80%, 44% are under the age of 18 (RAINN, 2016). That leaves 36% of victims between the ages of 18 and 30. These percentages become even more alarming when that 80% is of about 293,000 victims of secual assualt each year (RAINN, 2016). It is estimated that 1 in every 6 women in the US has been or will be victims of sexual assault in their lifetime. The risks of sexual assault increase on college campuses. Women ages 18-24 who are enrolled in college are 3 times more likely than women in general to suffer from sexual violence (RAINN, 2016). One would think that with all these women being sexually assaulted, one would hear more about it, or perhaps the police stations would constantly be busy. This is not the case. Sexual assault is one of the most unreported crimes, with 68% still being left unreported (RAINN, 2016). This could be because of every 100 rapists, only 2 will spend a day in jail. Of the 32 out of 100 that would be reported, only 7 are referred to an arrest (RAINN, 2016). Why would men or women want to report sexual assault when the system that is supposed to protect them fails so often, and why does this system continue to fail?
Have you ever been encountered in a circumstance of being raped or knew an individual that was a victim of rape? Every one-hundred and seven seconds an American is sexually assaulted (RAINN). Rape has become a continuous problem causing controversy due to the way colleges cover up or simply hide incidents of rape throughout campus. More college students are also being raped by their own acquaintances rather than random strangers. Students, parents, and politicians question the way schools protect students and how their campuses can become more effective and efficient in preventing further occurrences of rape. Over the past years there has been a series of incidents where rape has been an extreme problem on college campuses in America that have been kept quiet until something traumatic happens. The prevalence of rapes on college campuses is continuing to rise due to lack of security, surveillance and awareness.
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
Sexual assault is a social issue that has been a pressing topic of conversation throughout communities in the United States. The rapid interest in sexual assault comes after a string of released content about the prominence and severity of sexual assault against women. The media has chosen increase public awareness on the fact that “one in 5 women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college” (). Media content on the topic includes the highly-rated documentary “The Hunting Ground” and a report and a call to action from the White House Council on Women and Girls. The public outcry is not only because of the staggering rate of sexual assault rather it is the lack of or mishandled reporting of sexual assaults in college. This paper
When a victim vocalizes that they were sexually assaulted, a blockade of obstacles from the university along with society emerge to protect the aggressors from receiving punishment. Colleges believe that rape reports deem the school unsafe and less attractive to potential applicants, which would cost the school a significant amount of revenue. Therefore, administrators often question the validity of survivors statements due to pressure from the university to shame them into silence. Administrators may also regard the statements as false allegations. Since colleges are aware of the amount of "hookups" on campus, they may have the misconception that rape reports are used to enact revenge. However, false accusations comprise only 2-8% of rape allegations and can be proven relatively easily. In addition, stereotypes and victim blaming help perpetrate the
Sexual assault and rape are a serious epidemic in today’s society; statistics show that one in five women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape in their lives. (United Nations Development Fund for Women, 2008). And the reporting of sexual assault to the police is exceptionally low and few offenders are successfully prosecuted this leads to a lack of support and education within the community. (Madeleine van der Bruggen,
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 Violence is more than just a crime against individuals. It threatens our families; it threatens our communities. Ultimately, it threatens the entire country’ (qtd. in Burleigh pg. 2). In the article, “Confronting Campus Rape” written by Nina Burleigh; a writer, journalist, and professor at Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, describes what students are doing to force universities to take a stronger stand against campus sexual assault. Burleigh also describes what the government is doing to make a difference on the issue. This includes laws that have created consequences for the assaulter and laws that protect the victim. According to Burleigh, a young woman called Laura Dunn was sexually assaulted on campus. Dunn was a student of
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.
“One in five women who attend college will become the victim of a rape or an attempted rape by the time she graduates” (National Sexual Violence Resource Center). Although sexual assault and rape is a very known and rising issue on college campuses it is not treated with much relevancy. The poor system of consequences for sexual assault and rape is a controversy among many as the issue is treated with much leniency. There are thousands of women that are affected by this issue daily, over ninety percent of these cases are not reported. Just over ninety-five percent of the vast majority of students, who are sexually assaulted, remain silent according to a study funded by the research of the U.S. Justice Department. Those who come forward can encounter mystifying disciplinary proceedings, secretive school administrations, and off-the-record negotiations. The analysis reveals that students deemed “responsible” for alleged sexual assaults on college campuses can face little or no consequence for their acts. The victims of sexual assault never really recover or redeem themselves of the trauma they went through. For the victims, the trauma of the assault can be compounded by a lack of institutional
The survivors of violent campus trauma are more likely to experience long-term academic, emotional, and physical consequences. The rest of the campus, including student body, administration, faculty, and staff, may also experience increased levels of fear and anxiety as well as reduced productivity. The Cleary Act of 1990 requires that American colleges and universities record and report all crimes committed on and near campus. This information must be reported annually to students, employees, and the general public.