Rape Culture On College Campuses

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.

Recently while reading Rolling Stone and looking for an article for this paper, and came across an article called “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA.” In summary, a freshman at the University of Virginia was at a frat party and her date was a member of that certain frat. She chose against drinking which is uncommon in most rape cases that occur on campuses. He later asks her to join him upstairs, and being an innocent naïve girl she decided to follow him. As soon as she entered the dark room and he did not turn on the lights she knew that something was wrong. Soon after she heard many different voices in the room and after seven different frat boys did horrid things to her she understood that this was something that some of these boys were doing this as an initiation into that frat. Of course, her friends who were so-called ‘loyal’ to their college urged her to keep quiet for fear that “she may never be allowed in a frat again” or “put a bad light on the university.” Furthermore, the UVA is under a federal investigation to try to determine if there have been other cases of rape that may have been ‘swept under the rug.’ In this essay I want to investigate the psychology of rape and the rapist, why it happens largely in college campuses and specifically fraternities, and also to understand the “rape culture.”

Our group of researchers decided to conduct a study in order to gather information on the rise of sexual assault allegations. We were interested in concluding whether or not the rise of sexual assault allegations in the media tested the validity regarding those accusations. Since Penn State has been exposed to a number of sexual assault scandals in the past few years, Penn State students were an ideal focus group because most students are familiar with our subject. With our phenomenon being a sensitive topic for a handful of our subjects, we decided to conduct a study in which all of our subjects could remain anonymous. Thus, we created a survey composed of nine questions, keeping in mind that this topic can be triggering for

According to the United States Supreme Court’s U.S Code 920 – Article 120, sexual assault and rape (a form of sexual assault) are legally identified as “sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual action perpetrated against a person without that person 's consent” (H.R. Title 10 - Armed Forces 466). Now, in regards to why these individuals inflict these actions are summed up within the same U.S code in that they may be carried out by “physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of valid consent” (H.R. Title 10 - Armed Forces 467). In today’s society, rape and sexual assault on college campuses have attracted massive media attention by climbing up to the #1 age bracket responsible for both allegations and carried out convictions. (Gordon) Among our generation, the question not addressed by the government is what is the common factor among this age bracket that is capable of contributing to this increasing number of sexual crimes across the country? “Music is an integral part of youth culture” (Kistler 2) and has been popularly discussed as the probable influence behind this staggering statistic. Through careful examination of music’s many sexually suggestive lyrics and videos released over the past decade, combined with the opinions of those heavily influenced by music, we can see that musicians with a demeaning, misconstrued message have been involuntarily responsible for measures of falsely interpreted sexual stereotypes which lead to

Emma Sulkowicz, a senior at Columbia University, carried her mattress around her campus, from class to class, all of last year as form of protest against her rapist who was not expelled from school. This story made news all across the country, leaving many wondering how this could possibly happen, and why it continues to happen. This is just one of the highly publicized cases of rape on college campuses, which also illuminates how often time administrators fail to bring justice to the victim. It seems as if of lately that rape and sexual assault on college campuses has become far too normal in our society, meaning that we have almost become numb to them because they happen so frequently. When we hear about a rape on a campus, it is often neither surprising nor shocking to us, which is a definite social, and criminal, problem. The question that must be addressed then is, why do these types of crimes continue to occur, and what factors contribute to this ongoing issue? It may be easy to point a finger at society as a whole, and say that parents have wrongfully raised their sons to behave in such a way, but there may be even more factors that work together to create a rapist or someone who is likely to commit sexual assault. Nonetheless, this is a huge, relevant, terrifying problem in our society which often leaves young women feeling as if they are not ever safe, not even at the college campus of which they are supposed to be able to call home.

You're walking around campus, all of a sudden you’re pushed to the ground, you're then raped for the first time. You get back up and walk a few more feet, petrified, dazed, and confused, then your face hits a cold metal fence and your pants end up around your ankles and you get raped one more time. That horrendous story was how a night in January went for a Baylor University Freshman. She was on her way back to a party when a Baylor Football player decided to have his way with her and rape her not once, but twice. She was taken to the local hospital where she identified her attacker as Tevin Elliot, a Baylor Football player. He was released from the team and expelled from the University. The victim went to the health center and the security

Certain things are a given about college life. New opportunities, new friends, new living situations, but also, new dangers. No matter what college, what area, whether it is a notorious party school or not, there is always a danger that comes with placing hormonal youths in close contact with drugs, alcohol, and each other. Yet, few parents are afraid for the safety their young sons. Many parents fear for the safety of their daughters, in an environment where drugs and alcohol are the norm. The college party culture has been renowned for placing shame and blame on young girls who are the victims of rape and sexual assault. So, I created a model for a poster which protests this campus, and also nationwide rape culture.

finding was that many could not describe a clear definition of rape and consent. Some claimed it did not need to be spoken while others though it did. “Additional students confirmed the ambiguity of rape by saying, ‘‘Rape is hard to define’’ and often adding the disclaimer, ‘‘it depends.’’ Thus, at the cultural level, female students must attempt to rationalize and explain their perceptions of what constitutes rape, since it is not given to them by their culture” (Burnett et al, 2009). They also received much confirmation that the view surrounding rape was that females were asking for it while males were claimed to be heroes for having multiple partners, thus created the idea of male dominance and double standards. When it came to dates and

Peer groups and individuals have been identified as a major contributor for perpetration of sexual assaults surrounding college and university males in the U.S. According to esteemed academic professors Laura Widman and Michael Olson, it has been reported that a self-report of proclivity to commit rape in a hypothetical scenario or having a sexual history of aggression can produce a positive correlation with the endorsement of the rape tolerance or the rape supportive attitudes in men (Widman and Olson, 2012: p. 813; Koss and Dinero, 1988: p. 133). The acceptance of rape myths, as well as, the prejudicial and stereotypical beliefs about rape and the circumstances can surround the context of rape that the belief is only subject to ‘promiscuous women only get raped’ and ‘women are asking to be raped’ are correlated with the self-reports history of sexual aggression and the willingness to commit rape amongst men in the future (Lonsway and Fitzgerald, 1994: p.

No means no. That is, until you are on a college campus. Then-- no probably means yes. It is no secret that there is a campus rape epidemic that has seemed to sweep the headlines in recent years. The problem seems new yet goes back perhaps to even the first widespread admittance of women to college campuses. And still the campus rape problem remains, pushed under rugs and bordering on do-not-ask-do-not-tell policies perpetuated by many colleges and universities. Rape and its treatment on campuses has become such an issue that even popular culture and media is beginning to speak out. The days of universities coddling the perpetrators needs to come to a close--society says so. The media says so. Even our television shows say so.

Rape issue is changing, because of feminism. Women are getting together to strive for their rights, and they don’t want to be treated as sex objects. Feminism united women. Women are working in the higher government chairs, and monitor the higher posts. This brought power that is changing the way women are dealt with. Other than that, there are countries or states who vow to protect women. Vows are applied in different countries, and states that took part to reduce the rape issue. Date rape on college campuses has been a big issue. Women in colleges are raped while they are drunk, or they use drugs. It’s when a woman doesn’t know what she is doing, and she can’t handle or take charge of her body. Male students who are with her can target her

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate how undergraduate college women in the United States perceive rape and sexual assault as a potential threat of engaging in random hook-ups or casual sex.

A moral panic is a “condition, episode, person or group of persons that is defined as a threat to societal values and interest,” these “panics” are often over dramatized in the media and lead people to believe that the issue or group responsible for the issue is much more of a severe threat than they actually are. I would argue that the concept of campus rape culture phenomenon would align closely with what is considered a moral panic. Rates of rape on college campuses seem to be very alarming but the “rape culture” epidemic is leading to its own set of problems. One of the issues with the rap culture making it similar to a moral panic, is the surveys conducted. Many of these surveys include “any unwanted sexual encounter” as rapes. This could incluse things like unwanted or unsolicited touching or even an unwanted kiss on the cheek. Although this is not socially acceptable, it would be irresponsible to classify this as rape.

The study is a descriptive cross-sectional survey implemented to assess students' attitudes toward rape and empathy toward survivors of rape. A pilot study using 30 college students with a two-week interval was used to establish reliability of the ATR and RES. Subject's birth day, month, and first three digits of their phone numbers were used as identifiers for the retest portion of the pilot study. A two-tailed t test was performed comparing test scores across the 2-week interval. Statistical analysis found a 1.0 correlation for demographic data, .91 alpha reliability coefficient for the ATR, and a .80 alpha reliability coefficient for the RES.

Rape culture is an environment in which social attitudes have the effect of normalizing sexual violence against women and excusing it in the media and other popular cultures. Rape culture attempts to rationalize a continuum of sexual violence that range from sexist remarks to unwanted sexual touching, and rape itself. Rape culture has become so desensitized by society that perpetrators may not be aware of their wrongdoings and victims may not realize they are being victimized. It is a culture in which victims are suppressed when they decide to speak up about their traumatic attack, because they are seen as being dramatic or untruthful while the perpetrator's actions are left unpunished. While the majority of victims are women, rape culture is not solemnly an issue of female oppression, it is a general disconnect between human beings. It is a culture that many of us refuse to accept exist, however there are numerous examples that normalize rape and sexual assault on a daily basis. Rape culture is not a new topic. The term was first used back in the 1970’s by a group of feminist to raise the awareness of the normalization of sexual violence in society. In recent years the topic has become a popular, controversial issue and has come to permeate virtually every aspect of our lives through media, song lyrics, and everyday jargon.