SOCIOLOGY 161W: SEXUAL ASSUALT ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES Sexual assault is a form of sexual violence and is defined as any involuntary sexual act in which a person is threatened, coerced, or forced to engage in against their will, or any non-consensual sexual touching of a person. Although sexual assault and rape happens all throughout the country and in many different settings, one major population which experiences it all too frequently are the college students. The history and how long college campuses have been a hotbed for sexual assault crimes is one that has been long be understated and is just now starting to come to light.
Sexual assault on college campuses is unfortunately nothing new. Some have argued that rapes on school campuses
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Not because more people are being assaulted, but just the fact that it’s being reported period. Sexual assault is one of the most underreported crimes in the world, with only 40% of cases ever going beyond private conversation, and with numbers showing that as many as one in five (possibly more) women have been sexually assaulted. But the problem with reports going up is that schools then have to deal with lots of controversy and the potential of major blowback not being able to protect students and provide a safe learning environment. Some researchers feel that this could be another factor as to why it has been so hard to track the history of rape on college campuses as well. The schools themselves try to hush up certain things in fear of tarnishing their names and hurting their reputations. Another reason rape is underreported is that when a person reports that they were raped, it changes the way others look at you. The person suddenly becomes part of a national controversy and friends and family will more than likely treat you differently. They may assume that you change and will want to protect you from watching certain TV shows or movies that may upset you whereas before they wouldn’t even think twice about it. Not only will reporting the crime be a tough …show more content…
Not only the questions that the victim receives after the incident if they actually report what happens, but questioning themselves right afterwards. In certain studies such as the one performed by Wechsler in 1994, more than 35% of victims said they didn’t report the crime because they were unclear as to whether or not a crime was even committed or that the harm done was intentional. Another article written by Mohler-Kuo in 2004 showed that 50% of those raped said they did not report the crime because they felt partially or even fully responsible for what happened, 29% said they did not report what happened to the police because they didn’t want anyone to find out and lastly 31% said they did not remember or know what really happened. So this thought of doubt or questioning that creeps into the victims mind can be another big reason as to why it is so hard to accurately track rape on college
“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
In the book Unsafe in the Ivory Tower; the Sexual Victimization of College Women, it is discussed how establishing one dedicated prevention method for sexual assault on college campuses may be difficult. This is due to not having accurate statistics on sexual assaults and also the assaults occurring behind closed doors with offenders being known to the victims. Establishing policy, awareness, and prevention programs may look good on paper and ease a parent’s mind about their kids going to college. However, these programs may be ignored or do not reach men who statistically are the violators. In the book the Unsafe in the Ivory Tower, the author states:
Nicole Johnson*, a 22-year-old senior at an area university looks back at her college experience as graduation approaches, generally happy with how everything turned out, however, a dark cloud still looms over her freshman year when she was raped.
In this research paper, we will evaluate how sexual assault is handled on a college campus. What system is used and how does it
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?
“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.
According to an interview by Beckett Brennan with Katie Couric “95 percent of victims that were sexual assault on college campuses do not report the sexual assault” (The Case). Majority of sexual assaults that happen on a college campus, will never be reported. Colleges should have more of a responsibility when it comes to the sexual assaults on campuses. Colleges need to own up to the sexual assaults, and take responsibility for the sexual assaults. Colleges need to stop pushing sexual assaults away, and need to stand up and do something about the sexual assaults on college campuses. Although sexual assaults are an individuals responsible, colleges should also be responsible in the sexual assaults that happen on college campuses.
Sexual Assault on College Campus Cause and Effect Essay In general, rape means force or threatening to use force against a potential victim. It includes vaginal but doesn’t exclude other forms such as, anal and oral penetration. Rape tends to get grouped with women, but, there are also men who get victimized as well. It’s not limited to heterosexuals either, there’s also homosexual offenders (“Sexual Assault”).
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
Unfortunately, rape is a traumatizing event to happen to an individual that can have lifelong effects on the individual physical, mental, and emotional state. Many victims elect not to report the crime to law enforcement in order to put the past behind them. Nonetheless, there are numerous explanations on why this crime is not heavily conveyed to the police. First, there is a sense of renunciation for the victim; particularly if the rape was brought on by someone they know (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p. 375). In the event that this occurs, the victim could try to evade the topic of what has transpired to them to de-escalate their sense of embarrassment and shame. Second, the victim’s fear of the legal system could avert them from also reporting the crime (Burgess, Regehr, & Roberts, 2013, p.
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.
What is sexual assault? Sexual assault is, “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 attempted rape” (Sexual Assault).
Sexual assault is 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, child molestation, incest, fondling, and attempted rape. Sexual assault in college campuses are a national problem that should be addressed. Although, victims across the nation are admitting this horrible incident, only a portion of assaults are told allowing the offenders to be on the loose. Very few cases are investigated properly, and even less end in conviction of the perpetrator. I will describe the history of sexual
The whole poem is a recounting of how the ship went down and remembering all that had been accomplished on it. “That banner in the sky; Beneath it rung the battle shout, And burst the cannon’s roar: --” On this ship, battles had been fought and cannons had been fired, things that specifically occurred during the revolutionary era. “Her deck, once red with heroes’ blood, Where knelt the vanquished foe,” also depicts the concept of the revolutionary era by discussing other elements of war. Furthermore, “... the victor’s tread, Or know the conquered knee; --” is another line that addresses the topic of battle, which is something that only occurred during the revolutionary era. Another piece found in this poem is the word “Ironsides” in the title. An ironside is defined as a soldier who served under a man by the name of Cromwell. This reveals that the poem is about soldiers and the battles they fought on their ship. Soldiers and war were two of the main aspects of the revolutionary war, so that is the era in which Old Ironsides