Campus Assault Case Study

Date rapes, hate crimes and theft have become an apparent concern on college campuses. The most disturbing crime on a college campus is a school shooting. Being a victim of any crime is the last thing any student or parent thinks of when choosing a college or university. The possibilities of danger on a college campus have been increasing over the years due to the reported crimes ranging from theft to murder. Because of the recent years of college campus reported shootings, both student and parent have become alarmingly concerned about

Problems arise when colleges do not supply their students with adequate support, and allowing repeat offenders to remain in the college. The college can prevent possible obstacles by creating an environment to encourage reporting and discourage sexual assault. Also, the elimination of repeat offenders will prevent future sexual assault on campus. Interactive workshops and early education provide essential knowledge about sexual assault and general safety to students entering college. A single prevention effort will not end sexual assault, but through collaboration with education and preventative actions could lead to a safer environment for college

Abstract: Sexual Violence is more prevalent at college campuses compared to other crimes. According to RAINN, the nations largest anti- sexual violence organization, “11.2% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students)” (“Campus sexual violence,” n.d.). Most recently, the case of Brock Allen Turner has made headlines nation wide. Brock Turner, a former Stanford University swimmer was charged of sexually assaulting an unconscious woman.

It would be wrong to say violence ends when you turn the television off or act as if injustice didn’t exist anymore, but if you reflect back on 2016 so far, one of the biggest topics that often dominates the news and blogosphere concerned the high frequency of assaults on college campuses around the country. In the place where many young adults begin to learn who they are and who they want to be while enjoying a comfortable freedom and safety among their peers discovered freedom and safety could not always be guaranteed.

Rape is one of the only crimes where victims are accused, but rape is never the victims fault. I am here today to discuss the devastating issue of campus rape cases in our local area. University of Maryland has one of the highest forcible rape statistics in the nation. Needless to say, many people close to us attend this university: friends, family members, and peers. Is it not our job to take care of the next generation that will lead us? Protection of students needs to be increased. Safety precautions such as camera’s, guards, sufficient training for security members, and panic buttons need to be expanded.

With the majority of assaults being committed, are in a sexual manor, the Safety Response Team will direct it focus on sexual assaults. According to a 2016 study released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), “an average of approximately 21% of undergraduate women across the nine schools participating in the study reported experiencing sexual assault since entering college. Non-heterosexual college females reported significantly higher rates than their heterosexual female peers. The majority of rape and sexual assault victims reported being victimized by someone they knew ("Protecting Students from Sexual Assault", 2016). With the numbers reaching close to twenty-five percent there must be strategic action that will manage, cope and adapt to this need for reformation in the Colleges issue on

Most colleges are not consistently alerting students when an assault goes on in campus. Colleges are leaving students vulnerable to

Though most college campuses are statistically safer than the surrounding communities as a whole, college campuses do occasionally host to every type of violent crime found in the rest of society, from murder to assault to rape. Although social education is the best way to deal with a problem like this, under the threatening situations of campus violence, armed police campus should be done as prevention.

Over the past decade, sexual assault on college campuses has been overlooked due to failed communication from the victims of the attack, which also allowed many schools around the world to become oblivious to the epidemic. A survey commissioned by the “Association of American Universities” brought forth results which were released in September 2015, stating that more than 27.2 % of female college seniors reported having experienced some form of unwanted sexual contact entering college. The dynamics of college life seems to fuel the problem; many are abused while they are under the influence of drugs or otherwise incapacitated. Most victims are assaulted

Statistics show that 15% of student populations are prone to campus violence if they have been conflicted with any type of harassment. (Bleau, Hannah) In the past few years’ campus violence has been a pressing issue in the United States, and in many instances it has been the front -page news. Campus violence is defined as, any act or threat of physical aggression or obliteration of property by any individual on school grounds. Though threats can vary and could include provisional or direct threats in oral or written forms, harassment, harm or endangerment of property or person, intimidation and other disruptive behavior performed at an educational institution; each can create substantial harm if not death. There have been multiple controversial arguments throughout the United States considering campus violence as the subject matter, and almost each case deals with the death of innocent people. If a new law is not passed to create a stable environment through tightened security for public and private institutes then massacres such as the Virginia Tech Massacre, Columbine Massacre and the most recent, Umpqua Community College shooting will continue to drive other’s to replicate such ruthless behavior.

The focus of my paper is to explore what kind of services and programs, are offered to victims of sexual assault. The research question that will be focused throughout this paper is: In what ways do Universities and Colleges assist victims of Sexual Assault? According to the United States Department of Justice (2017), 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" (DOJ 2017). As you can see sexual assault has various situations that could cause some situations to be sexual assault. Statistics show how 95% of campus sexual assault is unreported, 90% of women know who sexually assaulted them, 50% of sexual assaults on campus are alcohol related, 80% of rape victims suffer chronic physical and psychological problems over time (PACT5:2017).

A late arrangement of profoundly exposed campus sexual assaults and the flawed reactions by the scholastic organizations where they happened, has driven some policymakers and academic administrators to call for administrative and institutional change. For such changes to be powerful, academic administrators and officials need arrangements that successfully secure victims, discipline culprits, and inspire institutional compliance with appropriate legislation. Moreover, there has been huge level headed discussion about how much the criminal justice system can and ought to be included when sexual assaults happen on school grounds. To address these inquiries, there should be a more intensive comprehension of existing state sexual assault laws and their ability to handle sexual assault that happen on school grounds.

Every high school senior knows the amazing feeling of receiving that big envelope in the mail containing their acceptance letter to the school of their dreams. They’re filled with happiness and excitement, knowing that they are going to have the best four years of their lives at college. Never in a million years would a student expect their college experience to turn into a nightmare. Never would they have thought that their campus would not be safe enough to walk around alone at night without carrying their keys in between their fingers like knives. A student goes to school to learn, not to get assaulted or raped. Sexual assault is becoming a big problem on college campuses, and school officials are under reporting and trying to cover up the assaults because there are perverse economic and reputational incentives to hide those numbers.

The second way in which colleges can significantly reduce sexual assaults on campus is through increased security protocols. These protocols can be implemented by increased lighting in poorly lit areas, placement of closed circuit television cameras in blind spot areas, and areas less traveled by students and staff and through additional security or police officers. Many education sources encourage people to avoid poorly lit areas to avoid crime, therefore the same should be utilized on campus. Increased lighting on the campus should be a top priority for the college. Increased visibility encourages more people to take the route, which also assists in deterring crime. Within every community and on every campus are blind spots, or areas that are less frequently traveled. These areas a prime locations to increase the number and orientation of security cameras, to ensure visibility in all areas of the campus. An increased number of security or patrol officers will assist in deterring not only sexual assaults, but other crimes as well. Reduced overall crime results in an overall safer campus. While each of these suggestions can come at a significant cost, proactive security is substantially less expensive that an assault or other crime. Additionally, the United States Department of Justice offers Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating

Over the last two and half decades, campus crime as a social issue has come to the forefront of public attention and is regularly reported in both print and electronic media. Specific and general legislation has also been passed in order to prevent campus crime from occurring as well as to educate those who are either in danger of victimization or have the ability to prevent victimization and assure that justice is done. However, campus crime is not a new issue in regard to its occurrence, only in that it has finally attracted both public and media attention. Furthermore, Sloan III and Fisher (2011) suggest that this movement to recognize and prevent the occurrence of crime on college and university campuses (known throughout this book as the dark side of the ivory tower) did not pop up overnight. Instead, they argue that through a long and arduous process, four different activist groups were able to socially construct the problem as a proper and pertinent social issue, and influence legislation designed to curb campus crime, and hold those responsible, accountable for their action or inaction.