The Pros And Cons Of Sexual Assault

Many students are excited to enter college. There is new freedom, and they are not being nagged by their parents. Students can go to sporting events, parties, and extra-curricular events to meet new people, and maybe even romantic interests (Wilson). However, students are taught to be careful in new situations. There is no telling if someone they meet may be a sexual predator. Many women are told to be cautious of new men they meet, and to always watch their drinks at parties. Although this information is true and very helpful, isn’t it sad that men and women have to live in constant fear of sexual assault? Melissa Fritchle, a sex therapist and author of The Conscious Sexual Self Workbook, states that, “You should be able to get drunk at a party and not be violated” (Hartmans). This seems like common sense, but as we know, this is not always the case. I believe that sexual assault and its victims is a difficult topic to discuss in today’s society, but it is a common occurrence and awareness needs to be raised. …show more content…
are sexually assaulted in their life (“Get the Facts”). This amounts to one American being sexually assaulted every two minutes, and an average of 237,868 victims, aged twelve and over, being sexually assaulted in one year (“Statistics”). Although 25% of women will be sexually assaulted in their lifetime, females are not the only victims. In 2003, 10% of rape victims were male and a total of 2.78 million men in the United States have been victims of sexual assault (Maxwell). Even though sexual assault has fallen by over 50% in recent years, these numbers are still too high. It is not only adults that are being attacked either. Around 15% of all sexual assault victims are under 12 years old, and 93% of these victims know their attacker (“Statistics”). This is due to the fact that 2 out of 3 sexual assaults are committed by someone known to the victim (“Get the