Reflection Paper

One of the first times I ever went to a hospital was when I had to have a medical examination done to support sexual assault allegations. I was 12, and I elected not to have my mother with me for fear that she could not emotionally handle what was about to happen. Although I was lucky to have compassionate physicians, I still remember the loneliness that I felt and that I would continue to feel after that appointment. I was fortunate enough to be able to receive free therapy throughout my high school years, and that is something that has never been lost on me. Because of this, I have a personal passion for supporting sexual assault victims in whatever way I can. Throughout my high school years, I spoke at various engagement to fundraise for

On November 19, 2014, Rolling Stone Magazine published an article that attracted over 2.7 million views, “more than any other feature not about a celebrity that the magazine had ever published.” The article, “A Rape on Campus: A Brutal Assault and Struggle for Justice at UVA” catapulted the issue of rape culture on college campuses into a national discussion. Encouraging this discussion and urging universities across the country to increase their efforts to combat this was the goal of Sabrina Rubin Erdely when she set out to find a story that encompassed just that. However, the article was ultimately retracted and removed from the website by Rolling Stone due to fabrications and ethical issues in the story.

In recent history, there have been many cases of rape all over the world that have been sparking public outrage, not only because of the perverse acts but also for the way that society has responded to these attacks. The Steubenville, Ohio case is one account, where a sixteen year old girl was raped by two high school football players. Instead of focusing on the tragedy of the rape, the public and the media chose to speak about the two rapists - the boys - and how their promising football careers were over. It was suggested that the girl was at fault for being drunk, and that she was known for lying in the past, and could possibly be lying about the case (Poladian, 1). This is only one example of

In the article “Athletic club weekend turns into a nightmare for college freshman” by Carol smith and Lee Van Der Voo, Emily Lorenzen shares her story of being a rape victim. Emily shares her account because she wants to help to prevent rape from happening to anyone else. After interviewing Emily the authors shared a statement expressing that “Emily lorenzen believes that if people hear her story, they will be more comfortable confronting the issue of sexual assault on campus. She wants more conversation, so that men get a clearer definition of rape, face stiffer penalties if they ignore it and administrators learn to reach out to women like her and show compassion. She especially wants bystanders to step up and protect people who are vulnerable.” Rape victims need support to not feel guilty or ashamed, and that is exactly what Emily and her father desire. On this topic, Shipman an influential contributor of the Spokane sexual assault

There are different notions that the society has towards both Brock Turner and the victim, but whether good or bad, this case has sparked many new perspectives and conversations about situations such as this. The article proposes that this is only the first step to developing a culture that does not tolerate sexual violence in any form and a judicial system that deals appropriately with cases that involve sexual assault.

Sexual assault is not just a crime against an individual, it affects families, the community, and society as a whole. In recent years, our society has shifted to one of rape culture and rape myth. Rape myths are erroneous, stereotypical, and prejudicial beliefs about rape victims and reasons of sexual assault. Rape myths can impact survivors of assault, as well as the behavior and effectiveness of family, friends, medical and social services, and law enforcement (Rape Victim Advocates, 2016). Rape impacts our society by attacking the cohesion and mutual protection that makes a society. When we allow such crimes to go without the most vigorous and vigilant investigation and punishment, we allow for whole segments of society to be diminished, we are sending the message that society is okay with rape (Abbey,

Sexual assault is a topic that no one wants to cover, but almost everyone endures, or knows someone who has endured it throughout their lives. Particularly, sexual assault on college campuses is a huge deal. One in five women are sexually assaulted, which is a number that is insane to think about. In reference to the article on ending college sexual assault, the way the initial victim Maya reacted to the sexual assault is the same way many others do as well. Not only does it go unreported, which leaves the door open for continued sexual assault, she also fell behind on her studies as her mental state deteriorated. That example represents many students worldwide across campuses, and that is something that is just not alright.

Sexual assault has been a pandemic spreading like a wild fire in our nation. It is a ramped act that is plaguing our communities. Our society tends to view the perspective of the victim, however in the recent study Justifying Sexual Assault: Anonymous Perpetrators Speak Out Online gives another outlook. A team of researchers sought out to find the reasoning of why these sexual assaulters did what they did. By all means, the researchers do no attempt to defend these assaulters but merely try to understand their motives for their actions. The way they went about their research was doing a content analysis on, “stories about a controversial Reddit.com thread, which asked users to share their motivations for perpetrating sexual assault and whether

"I was raped," the girl said to me overtaken with tears. I was taken by surprise and was at a complete loss for words. She had just taken one of the darkest secrets of her life and brought it out to the splendid light for just me to gaze upon. A little apprehensive, I responded, "I'm sorry." What is one to say at the revelation of such a horrid thing? Anything else I thought of saying sounded stupid and insensitive, so I opted for silence and hugged her to comfort her to the best of my ability. A few months later the girl came to me and thanked me. She said that my gesture meant more to her than anything anyone else had said about the rape. I then realized that sometimes, if not most of the time, actions can speak louder than words. The

Rarely does the media offer how the victim tried to defend against the aggressive act, but it quickly allows those accused to state no assault occurred, merely a miscommunication. Celebrities and song artists using rape culture and sexual assault as a way to further their career diminishes society 's concern when attacks occur. Today’s generation typically decides as a whole whether or not the statement or event categorizes as offensive or immoral, leading to not only the victims but individuals attempting to raise awareness to be told their views are invalid.

Imagine this: You are a freshman in college, at your first frat party. First year away from Mom and Dad, no more high school, you are free to be your own person. After being ‘allowed’ entrance by a leering senior brother, you grab a drink, and party. Five hours later, you wake up, disoriented, in a bedroom you do not remember, groggy, in pain and severely confused. A couple of days later, it all comes back to you. You have been raped. What do you do? You vaguely remember the statistics spouted at you all through high school, and you definitely remember pushing them off. You’re not the next victim. You’re strong, you’re not a victim. But you are. Deciding to go to the police, you suddenly find yourself on the other side of the glass, being

It is six o’clock in the evening, a special news segment on world affairs is on the television. The journalist is doing a piece on inhumane practices that occur in third world countries, one of these travesties being rape. The voices of women who have been stolen from their homes and have been taken advantage of against their own will infiltrate the air. These personal stories have an incredulously powerful impact on those listening and make one think “How could such an outrageous thing happen?” Truth be told, these horrors are not just happening in far-off places, but they are happening right now in the United States of America. The very simple fact that one is oblivious to the magnitude of sexual violence in their very own country is an

Publisher and author Mike Domitrz raises awareness for college campus sex assaults on his website. He gives specific ways for victims to reach some sort of help to various degrees. Having many followers and winning many awards for his works makes Domitrz a reliable source. Even though this article was published in 2014, one can still take the same steps to reach help.

The topic that we talked about in the class, Sex Crimes and the Law that really interested me was the topic of rape. After having the guest speaker that was a Temple student really bothered me and I thought about it for days. For starters, I think it is absolutely scary that she was rapped on Temple University’s campus, to be exact in Peabody hall and absolutely nothing was done to help her. This is bothering me the most because I am a Temple student, this happened in her own room, no one helped her, and her rapist is still out there. I feel horrible that no one even tried to help and most people even made it seem like it was her fault by saying things such as “you know you wanted it”. No one wants to be rapped and the victim should never be to blame. This poor girl tried to kill herself multiple times. I believe that no one should go through this trauma alone or even go through it at all. Since our guest speaker, I have gone on a binge of watching Law & Order: SVU and even through about becoming a special victim unit detective for my career. Another reason that the topic of rapped bothered me was because just recently one of my friends came out and said that she was raped by her boyfriend. No one even knew this happened until she made it public on Facebook. For the longest time she was drawn back and really did not hang out with the group and now I know why. The guest speaker really helped me to understand, just to be there for her. When she wants to talk she will and not

I watched closely as dozens of women came forward with allegations of sexual assault on the news and the web, but the comments under news story were degrading. There were more people calling these women liars than there were supporting them. I was heartbroken, especially over the fact that it took becoming a victim for me to sympathized with victims of sexual assaults, especially with those who did not report their ordeal right away. I watched closely how society has low regards for women who have been raped, so much, that many were willing to vote for people who have been accused of sexual assaults, they did not see a problem with getting representation from such people, whether it be in the Whitehouse or in the Senate. That has affected me emotionally, specifically because I now understand, that most people are not even aware of how the history of society has shaped their lives and the decision they make.