Sexual Violence In High Schools

The issue surrounding sexual violence has been around for decades. However, that does not mean that the problem has been resolved. One in three women will experience or already have experienced some form of sexual assault in her life (“Sexual Violence”, 2017). Sexual violence can have a strong impact on mental as well as physical health, and victim of sexual assault usually experiences cases of PTSD and depression, and that can lead to the misuse of alcohol and drugs, and in some cases can even lead to suicide (“Sexual Violence,” 2017). High schools and colleges across the United States are trying to diminish the sexual violence problem by attempting many feats in the schools, some of which are succeeding. Some high schools and colleges alike have adopted prevention programs to teach the students to recognize sexual violence and how to intervene in a hazardous situation. Even though these programs have helped some individuals, there are still many schools that do not teach anything similar to what the prevention programs teach. To solve the issue of sexual violence, all schools need to teach what consent is and how much of a role it plays in sexual assault. Also, there needs to be more prevention …show more content…
In colleges with such programs, students learn how to intervene when the see a dangerous situation. The University of Kentucky established a “Green Dot” program that teaches students how to step in when they identify a potentially threatening situation, since this program has been founded, the schools that have adopted the Green Dot program have seen a 50 percent decrease in sexual assault cases, compared to schools that have not (Zimmerman, 2016). Bystander awareness is another effective way to get others involved. Bystander awareness is presumably one of the more effective ways to prevent sexual assault. It involves a witness of a harmful situation stepping in to prevent the issue from