Sexual Harassment and Dating Violence It’s easy for sexual harassment and relationship violence to be dismissed as only “adult” issues. On the contrary, these problems have proven to be pervasive in both junior and senior high schools. Although statistics show that “nearly half of students are sexually harassed in school” (Koebler, 2011), sexual harassment and dating violence are not being appropriately addressed in schools and are in essence, being shoved under the table. These are not fleeting issues, because sexual harassment and domestic violence can be particularly harmful to victims and have long-lasting, detrimental effects. One senior girl at Hoover High School said she has experienced sexual harassment and dating violence first hand, …show more content…
This harassment can be verbal, mental, or physical. Indirect sexual harassment includes lingering stares and hushed conversations about a witness or about an on looker while direct sexual harassment includes physical interactions and direct verbal requests. According to the survey, “Nearly Half of Students Sexually Harassed in School,” by Jason Koebler, “…according to the report, 87 percent reported detrimental effects from the harassment. A third of harassed students said they did not want to attend school.” (Koebler, 2011). Dating violence is sexual, physical, and emotional abuse that occurs between two individuals in a romantic relationship. Indirect dating violence is often subconscious conditioning to where the victim believes that they are deserving of this violence or believe that it is their fault whereas direct dating violence can often be aggressive physical or sexual abuse. “A 2005 study by the centers for disease control and prevention found that of 6,888 high school students nationally, I in 11 had been hit, slapped or punched by an intimate partner.” (Burleigh). Dating violence, especially in teens, stems from a lack of consent which can lead to a cycle of violence. Effects of these problems can include the victims having actual, physical injuries that can be seen by the naked-eye or, although equally as severe, wounds that can’t be seen by just looking at a victim. These injuries are possibly even more damaging because they are more difficult to heal, and are characterized by the mental and emotional pains experienced by victims on a wide-ranging scale. The most concerning part about sexual harassment and dating violence is that the abuser can be anyone: a close-friend or significant other, a boss or coworker, or even a total stranger. There is no real definition of who can be a harasser or abuser, because at any time in a victim’s
The trial of 19 year old Owen Laurie has brought into light the alarming rate in which Sexual assault is rising. The issue that rages on in Colleges is said to be making its way to high schools and primary school. In a study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Division of Violence Prevention, 19% of Undergraduate women experienced
Women’s issues are a huge concern to me as I transition into the adult world, especially when sexual assaults are associated with the college culture. From the streets of America to a child bride in Africa, women are suffering from abuse, harassment, and mistreatment. The feminist movement has enhanced life for women, but, in modern society, there are many areas that still need improvement. If we want to resolve issues over the treatment of women, we must tackle and overcome negative views of women, take preventive measures to ensure the safety of women, and bring attention to these injustices.
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.
Imagine you have just arrived at your dream college and suddenly your life is ruined from a crime sexual assault, and the suffering mental and physical pain that follows from it. In the documentary, The Hunting Ground, director Kirby Dick portrays how rape is more frequently common in college campuses than what people really think, and how it effects the victim’s emotionally. Students that just get to college don’t realize the negative events that could happen the them. College is supposed to be the best time of people’s lives, but bad things can happen, and students, especially women, should come more prepared. Both men and women are being sexual assaulted daily, and it’s something that need to be fixed.
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.
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
Sexual aggression among college students has been a popular topic of examination for the past three decades. One of the reasons for the repeated analysis is the fact that sexual aggression remains a common and enduring experience among college students. An early survey on this topic found that 54% of college women reported experiencing some sort of sexual victimization (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). That same year, Muehlenhard and Linton reported that 78% of female college students experienced some sort of sexual coercion and 15% reported experiencing a rape. Studies since then have consistently replicated those findings. Sexual coercion is commonly defined as any method used to obtain sexual contact with an initially unwilling partner, including negotiation and reasoning, guilt or emotional pressure, and the threat or use of physical aggression (Lyndon, White, & Kadlec, 2007).
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
The headline, “Recession Causes Increase in Teen Dating Violence”, clearly affirms a causal relationship between the economic recession, and the increase in teen relationship violence. Specifically, causation can be described as one event causing an effect within a specific scenario. As you see in the headline title, a recession assumes the responsibility for an increase in teen date violence. Hence, with this headline we observe a cause and effect relationship.
The Center of Disease Control highlights the corresponding injuries and violence prevention topics through the division of intimate partner violence into four main types, which are physical, sexual, threats of physical or sexual, and psychological or emotional. Physical violence includes the purposeful use of physical force such as shoving, choking, shaking, slapping, punching, burning that results in physical harm, disability, or even death (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Sexual violence is forcing a partner to take part in a sex act when the partner does not consent. Threats of physical and sexual harm communicate the intent to cause death, disability, injury, or physical harm through the use of words, gestures, or weapons. “Psychological or emotional violence traumatizes the victim by acts, threats of acts, or coercive tactics” (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). This method can be induced thr...
These numbers may be part of a larger problem. Statistics show that there seems to be an increase in cases of sexual harassment at colleges around the country. Date rape has become the most common violent crime on college campuses today. About one out of s...
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.
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.
For some, sexual harassment and assault seem almost like myths or bad dreams. For others, it's a living reality. The United States Department of Justice defines sexual assault as “any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient.” Sexual harassment and assault are demeaning, terrifying, and forceful behaviors. And yet, it’s happening every day. People hollering out car windows at pedestrians. Groups of teenagers terrifying