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Research Paper On Sexual Assault And Rape

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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. While ECU requires students to take a health class during their course of study, during my time in that class, issues of rape and sexual assault were hardly addressed. When the topic did arise, we were taught preventative measures on how to avoid situations where we may be assaulted. The problem with this method is that you can teach students how to avoid it, but they're not being taught what rape actually is. One of the most terrifying aspects of this is that rapists may not even realize that their behavior has caused someone else harm, because they're just that uninformed. A major perpetuating factor in misinformation regarding sexual assault and rape culture is the media. Confusion about what constitutes rape leads many students to question whether or not they were a "real victim". Rape isn't always a violent crime committed by a stranger down some dark alley. It can …show more content…

An article run by the school's newspaper, The East Carolinian, exposed the university for inappropriately handling student's cases. One victim revealed that during a group support session, the students were asked what they had been wearing when they were assaulted. It is this kind of approach that makes victims feel as though it is their fault and makes it less likely that students will feel like they can go to the university for

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