Sexual Assault And Rape

On college campuses in the United States, sexual assault and rape are significant public and social health issues so colleges need to punish the abusers and support the victims. Women are primarily the victims of rape whereas men are usually the ones to attempt any type of sexual assault.. The vast majority of women are sexually assaulted by men with whom they are acquainted. Women are far less likely to report a rape or assault when they know their assailant, thus instance of sexual assaults are greatly under-reported. This essay examines a number of reasons why women fail to report an assault to formal support agencies and examines some of the ways in which social services agencies can reach women

Sexual abuse and assault on college campuses has been a rising issue dating back to the late 1950s. According to The United States Department of Justice, 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 attempted rape.” Sexual assault has long lasting effects that go way beyond the immediate trauma that victims experience in the beginning, including pregnancy, transmitted diseases, anxiety, PTSD, depression, etc. Multiple studies and statistics have shown that not only will “approximately 20% female students

The different theories of the causes appear to be controversial among the society. For example, some can be of prejudicial, stereotypical, or false beliefs about sexual violence (Burt 227). Common quotes such as “she was asking for it by wearing that short skirt” or “boys will be boys” tend to make the situation lessen in value. Among the variety of reasons that lead to an assault is the “date rape drug”. The “Date Rape drug” is a very popular drug on college campuses that can put the victim in a vulnerable state. It is used as an easy way to manipulate the victims due to the excessive amount of experimenting with alcohol that may occur. To help lessen these chances, young adults should be educated about the risk that can come with participating in certain activities. College campuses should also act to help prevent assaults and assist those victims. Colleges should provide and staff centers and resources that students may report to when they are in a situation like this. One resource that colleges may overlook is a rape whistle. While counterarguments may claim that students could take advantage and not be mature while having one in their possession, it is an effective way to help a student while in a bad situation. “Only 20% of female student victims, age 18-24, report to law enforcement” (DOJ). Most students do not feel comfortable when such a traumatic event happens to them because they fear that no one will believe them

Sexual assault is everywhere, but did you know that on college campuses one of every four people have been a victim of sexual assault (Stampler 1). That is a staggering statistic of just how many people are affected by this crime. Sexual assault, while a long standing crime, has been brought into the spotlight more and more over the last twenty years. While there are several steps already in place to help lower this statistic there are additional things that can be done to help reduce the rate of sexual assaults on college campuses. By being more open with conversations about sexual assault, having support groups available, and changing policies universities can be successful in reducing the number of sexual assaults on their campuses.

In recent news a topic that has been gaining a lot of national attention is that of sexual assault on college campuses. Most understand sexual assault as an extremely vulgar act and it can universally be seen as taboo. But what exactly constitutes as sexual assault? The term sexual assault takes many forms including the attacking of an individual, rape, attempted rape, as well as any unwanted form of sexual contact and threats. A common form of sexual assault committed is when an individual touches any body part of another without the consent of the other person. According to legal standards sexual assault is classified as a statutory offense. This means that it is a crime to knowingly make another engage in an unwanted sexual act whether it be forced or threatened. We live in a digital era where the internet can be a blessing and a curse all at the same time. With the foundation of what sexual assault entails laid out there can be many connections made to things possibly broadcast on the news, and even posted on social media. The succeeding paper will draw connections to recent cases in headline news involving sexual assault and discuss available precautions on college campuses specifically at Bowling Green State University towards sexual assault.

Among female college students, 23% said they experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact ranging from kissing, to touching, to rape. All of these females said it was carried out by force or threat of force, or while they were incapacitated because of alcohol or drugs. This data was collected from a survey taken by 150,000 students from 27 different Universities. (Wallace, Kelley, 2105) Sexual assault is sexual contact or behavior that happens without the consent of the recipient. An attacker that is familiar with the victim commits approximately two out of every three sexual assaults. The American Civil Liberties Union estimates that 95% of U.S. Campus rapes goes unreported. Sexual assaults just

Many of these guidelines are current responses to publicity and lawsuits against colleges, in which each college wanted to, make clear the college’s position is disapproving of the college sexual assault (Boering, 2006). While most colleges offer campus sexual assault programs for girls, including education to promote the awareness of rape, acquaintance rape, and other sex offenses, forcible or non-forcible, but these same colleges do not obligate sexual assault prevention education for men (Boering, 2006). Furthermore, most guidelines target stranger assaults when most of the research has revealed that acquaintance assaults are the most common form of sexual assaults on college campuses (Boering, 2006). Blue lights with hotlines directly to the campus police do unquestionably nothing to help with the safety of women on college campuses, it is always easier to change the physical atmosphere than it is to reply to the attitudes and beliefs that perpetuate and legitimate sexual assault on the college campus (Boering,

Sexual assault has become a common occurrence not only in the United States, but also multiple countries across the world. In the United States, the term sexual assault has replaced the term rape in criminal statutes in the majority of the states. The main difference between these terms is rape is more specific because it refers to forced penetration in vaginal, anal, or oral regions of the body, whereas sexual assault recognizes that victims can be violated in ways that do not involve penetration (Bartol & Bartol, 2015). In sexual assault cases, the Federal Criminal Code distinguishes between two types of sexual abuse that is based on the degree of force or threat of forced used: aggravated sexual abuse and sexual abuse. Aggravated sexual

Rape is defined by the NCVS as, “forced sexual intercourse including both psychological coercion as well as physical force. Forced sexual intercourse means vaginal, anal, or oral penetration by the offender(s)… Includes attempted rapes… verbal threats of rape.” Fisher’s article focuses on the fact that many assaults occur on a campus because they hold “large concentrations of young women” which results in a “greater risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault than women in the general population or in a comparable age group.” The study conducted by Fisher et al. found that there are four main factors that

Many college women claim their experiences after being sexually assaulted — often in date rape situations — illustrate a culture of indifference and denial that results in one in five young women being assaulted during their college years. Additionally, victims describe that unclear and conflicted internal disciplinary systems at their respective universities can compound their suffering. In short, sexual assault on college campuses reflects and reinforces gender inequality.

College campus sexual assault has become a growing epidemic. Victims are assaulted by strangers, friends, or acquaintances, and receive no support when reported to the school staff. The importance of making this epidemic more aware to students or school faculty is to show the impact sexual assault has on a victim and their family, but also make it easier for victims to report and discuss their assault. Rape culture is becoming increasingly normalized within college campuses, and poses dangers to all students. The normalization of rape on college campuses promotes a mindset that suppresses victims and does not hold the attacker responsible for his or her actions.

Bohmer & Parrot (1993) explain how definitions to labels like sexual assault and sexual harassment are used interchangeable on many campuses. There is no universal definition to these labels in college campus across the country. Bohmer & Parrot (1993) explain that generally sexual assault is defined as “all forms of unwanted sexual activity”, deviate sexual intercourse is anal or oral sex, acquaintance rape is rape in which “the victim and the assailant know each other”, and sexual harassment is “sexual activity that is related to abuse of power” . The problem, however, lies when college administration uses these terms interchangeably and have only one policy for any sexual misconduct.

Rape is an age-old crime that society has just begun to understand the consequences of. In order to thoroughly understand rape, it has to be defined. However, this can be difficult to achieve because throughout history the definition and policies to prevent rape have constantly changed and varied across culture and generations. According to Dr. Mallicoat, professor at California State University, rape can be defined as “sexual intercourse under force, threat of force, or without the legal consent of the individual. (Mallicoat, 2015)” It’s unfortunate to note that most states consider an incident rape only if it includes penile-vaginal penetration. Rape is considered a more serious crime than sexual assault, which is an umbrella term for all other unwanted sexual activity besides rape (Mallicoat, 2015). Despite having these solid definitions, it’s still not clearly understood what actions and policies need to be put in place to prevent it. This problem is especially prevalent on college campuses.

Bohmer & Parrot (1993) explain how definitions to labels like sexual assault and sexual harassment are used interchangeably on many college campuses. There is no universal definition for these labels among college campuses across the United States. The authors explain that generally the definitions of sexual assault is “all forms of unwanted sexual activity”, deviate sexual intercourse is anal or oral sex, acquaintance rape is rape in which “the victim and the assailant know each other”, and sexual harassment is “sexual activity that is related to abuse of power” (Bohmer & Parrot,1993). The problem, however, comes when

Despite the efforts of advocates and activists to end and prevent sexual violence on institutions of higher education, the rate of sexual violence against women on college campuses continues to be 20-25% (ACPA, n.d.). Sexual violence impacts students, faculty, staff, administrators and the entire higher education community, directly or indirectly. Sexual violence affects individuals from across all racial and ethnic backgrounds, gender identifications and sexual orientations.