Date Rape On College Campuses

Sexual assault is defined by the department of justice 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. Women aged 18-24, in college, are three times greater at risk than the average woman any age. (RAINN). The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights has 246 ongoing investigations into how 195 colleges and universities handled sexual assault under Title IX. (Huffington Post). Many ask, Why on college campuses? Why have these statistics been rising? For a rapist or an assaulter, college is

The alarming increase in sexual assault among male and female students is a source of concern. Despite improvements in the general statistics on rape cases, the college setting remains to be the hot bed of sexual assault, especially among the female counterparts (Allen, 2007). A victim, regardless being a male or a female, never feel safe in their life as something precious was taken from them once. Statistics show that 17.6% of women are likely to be victims of rape in their entire lifetime while only 0.3% of males are estimated to be the victims of sexual assault. According to the National Violence Against Women Survey (NVAWS), the most critical ages men and females are likely to be engaged in sexual abuse is when they are children or adolescents (Gonzales, Schofield & Schmitt, 2006).

Every part of our research statement has been defined now, and the purpose of defining each aspect ourselves was to not be over or under inclusive. The reason we have narrowed down the definition of sexual assault to just forced intercourse is because among a crime that is not often reported, rape is the aspect that females will most commonly report to authorities. We chose seventeen as our minimum age because it is the legal age of consent in Texas, and any female older than seventeen is also at risk of being raped on a campus. It may seem over inclusive to add every age over seventeen, but all sexual assault crimes, regardless of age, are reported in the Clery Act. Just studying females is important because they are the most likely population to be victims of sexual assault. Finally, public campuses are the only Universities we are using because data is more readily available and representative of actual crime rates.

Sexual assault and rape among college campuses has been an ongoing issue across the nation for decades. In the state of Utah, this complex issue will not have a simple solution, but measures can be taken to prevent sexual assault and rape occurring on campuses. Utah Valley University is a campus that is taking considerably impressive measures to combat sexual assault, which will be a basis of this paper. Through university sex education, stricter laws and enforcement, and providing on-campus services to students, cases of sexual assault and rape in the higher level education setting will decrease, and students will be more likely to report these crimes.

Sexual assault is defined as any vaginal, oral, or anal penetration that is forced upon another, regardless of sex and sexual orientation, using any object or body part. The issue of sexual assault in America is primarily encouraged by rape culture. Women Against Violence Against Women is an organization that defines rape culture as a complex set of beliefs that encourage male sexual aggression and supports violence against women. The acceptance of rape culture, rape myths, and the disregard for sexual consent also allow for the perpetuation of sexual assault against women on college campuses. Recent examples of sexual assault on college campuses show how prominent this issue has become and how hostile campuses have become for female students. Some examples include the University of Southern California’s “Gullet Report,” Miami University of Ohio’s “Top Ten Ways to Get Away with Rape,” and a sexual assault on the campus of Kansas University. Sexual assault is perpetuated by the acceptance of rape myths and rape culture, lack of effective sexual education, and the disregard for consent. The solution to this issue lies with defeating rape culture, increasing awareness and funding for campus sexual assault crisis centers, and enacting more prevention programs on campus.

Sexual assault and rape are serious social and public health issues in the United States and throughout the rest of the world. In particular sexual assault on college campus are prevalent at an alarming rate and leaves serious effects on the victims. This essay will focus on statistics and the prevalence and effects amongst college students, through examining a number of reasons why women fail to report sexual assault and rape. This essay will also cover sexual assault prevention and things that can be done to mitigate the risk of becoming a victim to such matter.

Many teens enter college expecting a different atmosphere from what they had in high school, but in reality they may have more to worry about than they originally thought. Although the number of cases of sexual assault on college campuses has decreased since 1993 it is still a relevant topic. 5% of women, every year, on college campuses experience rape or attempted rape as reported by One in Four, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of rape. 11% of women who experience rape actually report it to the police; most sworn campus law enforcement officials

As stated by an article from Bettercolleges.com, sexual assault can also involve forcing someone into non-consensual sexual acts by means of manipulation, any form of coercion, or psychological force. Sexual violence is more prevalent on college campuses compared to other crimes. In fact, according to Rainn.org college women are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted as they are to be robbed. The sad reality is that these victim’s voices are often never heard: only 5 percent of female student victims between the ages of 18 and 24 ever report to law enforcement because of factors such as distrust of authorities and fear of blame (“Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics”). In regard to male victims, they oftentimes face different types of stigma branching from issues such as stereotypes about hyper masculinity, sexual desire, and what it means to “be a man” in society, preventing them from reporting unwanted sexual activity (“Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus”). In the cases of both men and women, these assaults are often enhanced by the increased presence of alcohol and drugs on campuses. For instance, one study found that 15 percent of young women experienced incapacitated rape during their first year of college, meaning that when were raped when they could not give consent because they did not know what was happening (“Sexual Assault on College Campuses”). Peer pressure to participate in these types of social activities puts victims in a more vulnerable position for sexual assault. This environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused by leaders within the school system is known as rape

One campus only had a single incident of date rape in four years that did not involve alcohol. Date rape tends to be fostered by poor communication and a difference of expectations. These problems are magnified by even a little alcohol.

A fair share of qualitative and quantitative research was conducted in an attempt to adequately address the specific questions that were being asked. All of the research we reviewed used primary data and chose not to utilize secondary data to conduct their experiments, however, several of the studies references secondary data sources when speaking of historical backgrounds of rape and in their discussions. The methods our group has chosen to pay particular interest to are those that were used to gather data from participants at college campuses, as this is the population we wish to further explore. Due to women of college age being at an increased risk for sexual violence, several of the studies we found pursued out this population as well. A study conducted at James Madison University gathered their findings from a participant pool at their university using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale, the Modern and Old-Fashion Sexism Scale, and rape scenarios and questions in which they evaluating participants identification with either the victim or the assailant (12p.242) This study was not alone in using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale as measure. In fact, of the research reviewed seven other studies utilized the scale in addition to the research done at

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

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

 Date rape is a forcible sexual intercourse by an acquaintance, where one resists sexual advances either verbally or physically. The perpetrator of this crime varies from boyfriends to casual acquaintances. The Centers for Disease Control reported that eight out of ten rape or sexual-assault cases were carried out by people of these relationship statuses. Sometimes rapists claim they are given given mixed signals, or even misread simple flirtation as a woman’s sexual advance. In any situation, a woman is not

Sexual assault has been a huge issue for many years on college campuses and universities nation wide. As society has evolved, thoughts on sexual assault have also evolved, becoming more focused on the details of victim treatment than ever before. The topic of sexual assault is debatable and sparks many opinions on weather sexual assault on college campuses is becoming more frequent, or if there is just heightened awareness. Sexual assault can happen to anybody no matter the gender, race, religion, or age. Recently there have been many studies conducted on sexual violence on college campuses and universities producing ample amounts of statistics. One may argue that sexual assault rates are the same, but there are simply more studies and attention on sexual assault in the past 20 years. Gender roles have played a huge part in sexual assault on college campuses. Women and men have different expectations when it comes to roles in the relationship, men are often expected to make the first move. One may ask what causes a perpetrator to sexually harass somebody and think it is acceptable. There are various reasons as to why perpetrators do what they do, and may vary from person to person. Although sexual violence is a large problem for many colleges and universities, there is a surprising shortage of federal laws/rules and regulations regarding sexual assault. Colleges are able to develop their own personal policies and procedures for how they will prevent and deal with sexual

College-age adults are known to be high risk for sexual violence and most studies show that one in three women have experiences some type of sexual assault whether it was through physical force or harassment. These statics are known by most women on college campuses to ensure that women know and understand that this could happen to them. The issue is more than ensuring that women are aware of how protect themselves and know how to avoid these situations because it shouldn’t even be happening. When women are taught that they should know how to defend themselves we are saying that this type of behavior is normal and inevitable. We should shift from this dynamic and start teaching both men and women that this behavior is completely unacceptable and that sexually assaulting or harassing someone is NOT normal. This paper will mostly focus on incidents of rape and sexual assault on college campuses and what the outcome and reactions of these incidents were.