Rape-Accepting Attitudes of University Undergraduate Students: Article Analysis

“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn't move” (Hummer, 1989). These were the words said by a freshman away at college after she had been sexual assaulted. From the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National network, statistics show that “over 90 percent of all gang rapes on college campuses involve fraternity men” (Hummer, 1989). Most often these woman may be labeled as trash, shameful, or ready for action, aside from a victim, prey, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these deprecating terms for women and cover the reality of a rape culture.

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).

In both “Athletic club weekend turns into a nightmare for college freshman” by Carol smith and Lee Van Der Voo and “The other side of the college assault crisis” by Max Kutner, the topic of rape is discussed and different views are shared. These two articles show both sides to alleged rape allegations. Rape is a critical social and public health issue, especially in college. When it comes to rape, men and women have disparate sides to their stories. Although rape is a serious ongoing crime, there is also the crime of erroneous rape assertions.

Sexual assault and the Massachusetts Department of Public works with local rape crisis centers to gather statistical data so we can assess and know the facts and realities of rape in Massachusetts. While statistics do not tell the whole story of sexual assault, they can help us paint a picture of the problem. The forensic nurse has an integral part of this specific population’s victimization. A forensic nurse should have a basic knowledge of the type of offender the rapist can be. As a certified sexual assault investigator for Middlesex County I have investigated, collected evidence, arrested, testified and successfully aided in the prosecution and conviction of rapists. I will explore the definition of rape and criminal statutes related to the crime of rape, rape trauma syndrome, and some of the drugs a perpetrator uses to assist in commission of this crime and how the FN and the police share a different but equal role in prosecuting the offender.

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 victims cared for at facilities with a SANE program were found to have been offered and have accepted more medical services, such as pregnancy prophylaxis and STI prophylaxis. Victims spend significantly less time in emergency departments with SANE programs and receive more community referrals for follow-up care. Rape kit collection techniques are completed properly and more rape kits are collected in emergency departments with SANE programs (Crandall & Helitzer, 2003; Littel, 2001). Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner programs assist law enforcement as evidenced by higher rates of victim cooperation with police. Victims have a better understanding of and trust in the judicial process, leading to more charges filed, higher arrest rates, higher rates of prosecution, and longer average sentences for perpetrators (Attorney General of Texas, 2011; Campbell, Patterson, & Fehler-Cabral; Crandall & Helitzer, 2003; Markowitz,

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.

The topic of sexual assault has always been a tough subject to discuss because it is a heinous crime that can and has happened to men, women, young and old. It is a topic that is disturbing and heart wrenching, especially when involving children. In the past few years, our media outlets have captured the images and stories on sexual assault, focusing mainly on College Institutions and how sexual assault cases have been handled within those institutions. Sexual assault is a very important topic to discuss, since this can happen to anyone you know, man or woman, adult or child, or yourself. This paper will touch on the different types of sexual assault, stigma of sexual assault, treatment of sexual assault, and understanding the perpetrator. There will be a brief discussion of the current social issue of college campus sexual assault. Sexual assault is such a wide topic with many areas to discuss, but this paper will outline the basic understanding of sexual assault and what can be done to overcome this stigma of sexual assault and how we can help the victims/survivors.

The Violence of Care: Rape Victims, Forensic Nurses, and Sexual Assault Intervention. NYU Press, 2014.

College campuses undergo serious health problems yearly, and sexual assault is a big one. In the U.S there is an estimated 20% to 25% of undergraduate females who go through some form of rape. There is a study that has shown that at the University of New Hampshire that 8.2% of college males also report sexual assault within the last 6 months (Exner 1). Sexual assault has been shown to occur most commonly between acquaintances, friends, spouses, and family members. Sexual assaults are often from someone who is intimately connected to the victim. Date rape is used to show that rape occurs between individuals who are dating. Women often lie about sexual assault. Men usually say that the women’s choices of clothing, manners of walking, and spaces of occupancy are reasons for their assault. The fact that men say that shows how sexist our country is. Just because a woman walks, talks, or dresses a certain way does not mean that they want to get raped or sexually assaulted. There are also many males who say that they experience females who sexually assault them. Females can and do rape males. Nevertheless, the vast majority of rapes are male perpetrated. This difficulty proceed from the extremely low numbers of sexually violent acts that are reported to police. Many victims do not report crimes of sexual assault because of embarrassment, self-blame, and fear. On university and college campuses, victims of sexual assault are less likely to report their experience if they were under the influence of alcohol during the assault, they have limited understanding of the university's policies and procedures surrounding sexual assault, and they have limited knowledge of other sexual assaults on their campus. A lot of the victims of sexual assault suffer greatly from PTSD after they’ve been attacked. Most of

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

This literature review provides a brief overview of six scholarly articles and other facts about sexual assault .This review will first define sexual assault as it is defined in these articles. It will analyze the strengths and limitations of the definition used and will discuss the occurrence of sexual assault in the general population.This review will also illustrate the protective factors, barriers to recovery , impact of development and the specific sexual assault population that are absent in these articles. Sexual assault is a societal issue that impacts men and women at every age in their life, it’s much more highly reported among college aged women. The majority of women who are victims of rape are

Sexual assault and rape has always been a social and public issue in the United States. A majority of the time, women become the victims, while men become the perpetrators. National surveys in the United States show that one in six women has experienced an attempted or completed rape. Consent appears to be a critical factor in determining whether assault or rape has taken place. Women have a higher chance of being raped by who they are acquainted with rather than strangers.

Sexual assault and rape are on-going issues plaguing college campuses all across the nation. In part, I believe this is due to a lack of education on what sexual assault actually is. All too often, victims are leaving these situations feeling confused about something that they will forever deem "a weird night". It often isn't until much later that they realize what happened to them was a violation of their body and of their rights.

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.