Sexual Assault On College Campuses

Improved Essays
Sexual assault on college campuses has been a social concern for several decades. It can be interchanged with many other terms such as rape, sexual abuse, or molestation. It has affected both females and males over the years, overall women being more likely to be the victim. Bureau of justice statistics show that one in four women experience sexual assault at college, but a majority never report it (Kingkade). College is said to be a time for young adults to explore self discovery, grow intellectually and experiment. A time for experimentation with alcohol and drugs; Partying, drinking and hooking-up being the social norms. Hooking-up, drinking and partying are the three greatest risk factors leading to sexual assault on college campuses. Many …show more content…
Currently the United States has one of the highest rape rate among countries, every 107 seconds, someone in the United States is sexually assaulted with the number of victims being 293,000 each year (Kahn). With many of the attacks being unreported and unrecognized sexual assault is said to be a silent- violent epidemic. The causes and reasoning behind sexual assault are entrenched into our society. Richardson and Shields make a point saying students are not the victims and “rape culture” but the victims of a damaged institution that contributes to risks of sexual assault ( Richardson and Shields 27). Women are staggeringly more likely to be the victim of sexual assault, while men are almost always are the perpetrators. Less than 5% of victims are male, and when men are sexually assaulted the perpetrator is usually male (Abbey 118). America’s stereotypical gender roles encourage men to be dominate and think that when a girl says “no” she is saying “convince me” leading them to be forceful (Abbey 120). In many cases men perceive women 's reject as a sign to try harder, and start sexual relations. Few women initiate sexual relations, Abbey states because gender roles expect women to set the limits on sexual acts and many times held liable …show more content…
The fact that alcohol and sexual assault co-occur does not prove that alcohol causes sexual assault. Many other determinates can be included in the cause of sexual assault. The influence of harsh parenting, insecure attachment and the hookup culture are all three potential risk factors for sexual assault (Sutton and Simons 2828). Children who grow up in hostile environments are commonly likely to engage in those same behaviors in their own relationship but currently there is no study relating sexual assault with parental hostility (Sutton and Simons 2828). Hooking- up has become a common phenomenon detailing unplanned sex with an acquaintance at parties, around two-fifths of college students engage in binge drinking , and alcohol often being associated with hooking- up (Sutton and Simons

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Tina deVaron’s article “At Colleges Plagued with Date Rape, Why ‘No’ Still Means ‘Yes’” argues that the amount of date rape on college campuses is due to women feeling that they have to tolerate the lewd behaviors being exhibited by young college men. DeVaron starts the article describing a college a cappella performance. As part of their performance an all male group pretended to unzip their pants and then continued to “thrust their pelvises” towards a meek young female on stage. She explains how this type of lewd behavior is being allowed to happen on college campuses all over, enabling men to rape. She claims these unsafe environments are not being properly addressed.…

    • 880 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Boswell And Spade Analysis

    • 1686 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The dangerous men videos further stereotype men as powerful beings and women as incapable of resistance and vulnerable. McCaughey and King revitalize rape education videos in their study by replacing “Dangerous Men” videos with “Dangerous Women” videos in which women defend themselves and are seen as threatening to men. They aim to demonstrate that rape does not depend on physical prowess and they aim to reestablish male and female relations. Women’s fear of rape is already very strong, but removing women from public and social life, and changing their physical appearance will not decrease rape. Rape education should be directed towards men so men can begin to reflect on the inequality between men and women, and ultimately take responsibility for sexual violence and ensure that there is consent with sexual partners.…

    • 1686 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the article “College Women: Stop Getting Drunk,” Emily Yoffe from Slate primarily focuses on the story of female students being exposed to potential sexual assault as a consequence of alcohol drinking. However, former colleague of Emily Yoffe strongly argues in the article “To Prevent Rape of College Campuses, Focus on the Rapist, Not the Victims,” Amanda Hess agrees some of the ideas from Yoffe, but she opposes that female college students is not the one who should be careful about sexual assault due to the overdose of alcohol. Hess points out that college should focus on the male student who is primary threats to the plastered girl to prevent a potential threat of sexual assault by strongly punishing and controlling them in college campuses.…

    • 1000 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    College and parties both sound like the time of somebody’s life. The only thing people are thinking about is having fun and not worry about responsibilities for the moment. Unfortunately, college students on campuses and the ones that like to party are usually in danger of being the next date rape victim. It does not always happen with college students but that is where the majority of cases occur. Many of date rape victims usually happen to be in the wrong place with the wrong person at the wrong time.…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Crime In Texas

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Fisher and colleagues, there are a handful of assessed risk factors that come with campus rape. These risk factors include prior victimization to college, substance use of alcohol and drugs, age and the year of study in college, race and ethnicity of victim, the residential status of the victim, sorority membership, dating violence history of the victim, consensual sexual experiences, and attitudinal characteristics of both the victim and the perpetrator. Substance abuse can play a large part in the raping of females on campus because it impairs their ability to resist, fight back, or call for help. But according to this final report on campus sexual assault, women of different ethnic backgrounds and/or of the lower classmen classification were more at risk for rape on campus. In terms of the residential status of the victim, those living in a sorority house and members of sororities were more likely to be coerced with drugs and alcohol, and therefore under more risk for victimization of rape.…

    • 950 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sexual Assault On Campus

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages

    While more than half of sexual assaults against women of college age occur off campus, on campus assaults are a problem that college and universities can and should do more to address. The best statistics show there is a correlation between 3 factors, alcohol use, sorority membership, and class status, and sexual assault on campus. To combat these trends colleges and universities need to address these factors while taking into account that any measures they take not simply move the problem from campus to off campus locations. This means that the measures taken should be centered on raising awareness, encouraging responsibility, and holding offenders accountable in a just way, while also addressing the campus code of conduct.…

    • 635 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Instead it was campus rape that is a highly calculated, premeditated crime, one typically committed by serial predators.” The second theme is that “even when school administrators are informed of harm done to female students by these repeat offenders, schools typically do nothing in response because colleges are primarily concerned about their reputation and if a rape happens, they’ll do everything to distance themselves from it.” These two themes are extremely shocking and heartbreaking because college is supposed to be an intellectual experience and students go to college in order to get a good education and be successful in life. Unfortunately for females, it has become very difficult to deal with situations like these. All of the rape victims from colleges around the United States have come together to stand up for themselves and fight for their rights and bring justice.…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Numerous studies have concluded that a relationship exists between use of substances, such as alcohol or drugs like marijuana, and sexual violence. In fact, “over half the victims and perpetrators of sexual assault among college student had been drinking alcohol prior to the assault.” (Krebs et al.) Alcohol impairs judgment making the line between denial and consent blurry and in trying circumstances; victims are potentially unaware of what’s happening altogether while incapacitated. However, the Campus Sexual Assault Study was able to provide this insight on what defines incapacitated sexual assault for the purpose of their…

    • 1269 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    On Campus Sexual Assault

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages

    On campus sexual assault is a growing epidemic in today's society. It often gets swept under the rug by universities, students have to deal with the trauma following their assault on their own, and causing their grades to suffer. 19% of college students are sexually assaulted and 80% of on-campus sexual assaults go unreported. When the issue is brought to the school board it is often swept under the rug. They are told that what happened to them wasn’t a big deal, to get over it, or that it was their fault.…

    • 368 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Another important piece of information is that sexual assault usually occurs by someone the victim knows. It has been shown that men sometimes see a women’s friendly behavior as a sign of sexual interest or consent. In order for this misconception to go away, students need to be educated on clear consent and the different types of sexual assault. Many students do not grow up in a household where this information is talked about openly. In response to such high rates of assault, all universities should require students to take a course on sexual assault and the effects it has on an individual.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    they tend to happen at a party. Most rape or sexual assault on college campus involve two students that both are either intoxicated, or one of them are intoxicated. Students who are raped or sexually assaulted on campus are often blamed for the incident that took place. Victim blaming…

    • 232 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The amount of sexual assault incidents that occur on college and university grounds is shocking. A survey on sexual assault that included responses from more than 150,000 students from 27 different universities showed that, “nearly a quarter of woman reported nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force, threats of physical force, or incapacitation while enrolled at a university.” (Warner 1) The survey was conducted by the Association of American Universities, and is the largest survey done on campus rape. The survey also revealed that 1 in 10 female students have experienced sexual assault.…

    • 230 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Warning, the following text includes triggers that may harm individuals. A Call To Change Women around the world age 15-44 are more at risk from rape and domestic violence than from cancer, car accidents, war and malaria (Violence against women). One in five women on U.S. college campuses have experienced sexual assault (Kessler). These statistics should shock one to the core, but does it?…

    • 1037 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    There is an obvious struggle for justice in our modern world when 1 in 5 women are sexually assaulted on college campuses and only 20% are taken to the police ("1 In 5 Women On College Campuses Are Raped", 2013). This has quickly become an epidemic among campuses all over the country. Young woman fear walking alone or going out at night. Many will even restrain from College events in fear of being sexually assaulted. Many often wonder why are the incidents going unreported.…

    • 472 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Rape Crisis In America

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages

    From the study, “The history of the rape crisis movement in the United States is also a history of the struggle of African American women against racism and sexism. During slavery, black women were often at the mercy of white men since the rape of slaves was both common and legal, and many masters raped slaves to produce more slaves” (Heldman 2). This proves that there was prevalence of sexual violence among women from long period. The recent data shows that young before the age of eighteen are the majorities of rape victims. Although, women are unprotected in any situation, a college campus has been on the top list to increase the rates of sexual assault, and it has been considered as “an epidemic health problem on college campuses.…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays