Sexual Assault On College Campuses: Article Analysis

Assault in all forms is dangerous to both men and women. Sexual assault on college campuses is fairly common today, and occurs in a number of ways. Young women are most often the main victims of assault on college campuses. This is becoming a serious issue in American society today because either some of these cases go unreported or these young women are too scared to report them or are too embarrassed to report it because the men causing these might be their friends or someone they know. Many young women face this kind of problem, especially when in college. It is mostly at college parties where girls are at risk of having drinks that have been “roofied.” Roofied drinks are drinks that have been spiked with drugs and are most often used by men against women to make them sleepy or cause them to black out. These men are able to take advantage of these vulnerable women. It is difficult to tell if a drink is roofied as the color, taste and odor of the drink remains the same. These actions also put out a bad image of the “good” men and the men that actually care about a women’s safety and wellbeing. As a result, women will naturally form opinions based on experiences they have and will tend to be more cautious.

Sexual assault on college campuses is an extensive topic that has concerned people for many years. The high rates and the case report cover-ups have brought about many varying opinions. Many people believe in changing the college framework to establish universities that are better equipped to deal with this issue. Others feel that the problem could be addressed by changing society’s outlook on crimes like these. While another group feels that the problem is in how we define rape. Despite these differences in opinions, one thing is clear, everyone agrees that something must be done to reduce sexual assault on campuses.

The Hunting Ground (2015), explores sexual assaults on college campuses. The film shows many survivors conveying their experience with sexual assault and how their colleges or universities has handled their trauma. This film also shows the psychological toll sexual assault has on the survivor as well as their families. Additionally, the film presents how institutions cover it up and/or present a penalty that is not fit for the crime.

Sexual abuse and assault on college campuses has been a rising issue dating back to the late 1950s. According to The United States Department of Justice, sexual assault is defined 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.” Sexual assault has long lasting effects that go way beyond the immediate trauma that victims experience in the beginning, including pregnancy, transmitted diseases, anxiety, PTSD, depression, etc. Multiple studies and statistics have shown that not only will “approximately 20% female students

College is a great place for teenagers to transform into young adults and receive a great education. However, college is also the place where a lot of dumb choices are made and bad things occur. These college students get credit cards, procrastination, indulge in underage drinking and taking drugs, and lots of parties that can soon turn into trouble. It is said that "11.2% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students)" (Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics). College is where lives can be changed for the better or the worse. Lizzie Crocker at the Daily Beast says that there has been an increase in campus sex assaults and I believe this to be

Sexual assault on college campuses is a growing epidemic. Twenty five percent of college women are affected by sexual assault (A. Amar, T. Strout, S. Simpson, M. Cardiello, & S. Beckford, 2014, p. 93). Sexual assault is the non- consensual sexual touching of a person, in which a person is forced to engage in a sexual act against their will. Taking advantage of a person sexually is morally wrong, and causes victims of sexual assault significant emotional and physical damage. Sexual assault is a big issue because it is destroying the lives of college students. No one, that is, attending college, and has their whole life in front of them should ever have to experience trauma from such an act and have their whole future compromised because of it. But the problem is that the majority of the victims of sexual assault don’t report it. So what solutions are there to prevent sexual assault? Sexual assault on college campuses can be managed by enforcing a strict no alcohol policy on college campuses, so that it can not be used as a weapon by rapists. Sexual assault can also be thwarted through sexual assault prevention workshops to educate students and staff about the issue, and through the college administration, reporting sexual assault to local authorities, so that the legal consequences of sexual assault can be implemented. Out of the three preventative measures, having the administration report sexual assault to local authorities is more effective, because the crimes are

When colleges and universities are constantly in competition with each other for students, there are certain issues that occur. Competition has turned into universities and colleges often mishandling sexual assault and rape cases. Campuses want to minimize the danger that they may pose which leads to sexual assault and rape crimes to often be veiled. With this veil in place, it counters the efforts of colleges and universities to address the issue of sexual assault and rape. In July 2016, a survey was released to 350 colleges and university presidents. The purpose of this survey was to showcase whether sexual assault and rape cases were handled correctly or mishandled. Over the last five years, “more than 40 percent of the schools had not conducted a sexual assault and/or rape investigation” (citation). It was revealed that

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.

"Campus Violence is defined as any action or behavior that may threaten the safety of a member of the campus community, impact his or her physical and/or psychological well-being, or cause damage to campus property" (http://www.sacredheart.edu/officesservices/publicsafety/silentwitnessprogram/flashpointoncampuspowerpointtrainingslides). Many individuals think that violence on college and university campuses is rare and view their campus to be a home away from home. However, "Nationwide, 17 percent of college students indicated they had experienced some form of violence or harassment in the previous year" (http://counseling.uoregon.edu/dnn/ParentsFamilies/PreventingViolenceonCollegeCampuses/tabid/164/Default.aspx). The various types of violence that occur on campus include harassment, stalking, vandalism, physical assault, sexual assault, and other forms of interpersonal violence and suicide. Sexual assault occurs more frequently on college campuses and is estimated that a third of women experience an unwanted sexual experience. The majority of the time, sexual assault on college campuses are committed by someone known to the victim. (http://counseling.uoregon.edu/dnn/ParentsFamilies/PreventingViolenceonCollegeCampuses/tabid/164/Default.aspx)

Students in campus and colleges are all entitled to protection by the institution and the law. However, despite the two organizations handling the welfare of the student, students have a risk to sexual assault. Reports released concerning the matter state that one out of five college students has suffered sexual assault during their college life. The report further explains that 95% of rape cases in United States campuses are not reported to the authorities. It is vital to understand what sexual assault means before identifying the problems and finally coming up with possible solutions. The Act of sexual assault tends to violate the victim's sexual integrity.

Sexual Assault is an ongoing crime that is common among college campuses. As a woman in college, it is frightening to go to school, where there is a possibility of becoming one of the five women who are victimized everyday in the United States. There is a constant fear for women who attend a college that have a history of reports on sexual assault.

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.

A common worry of female freshman is the threat of sexual assault victimization on her college campus. Although the emotional treatment of sexual victimization is prevalent on campuses nationwide, research has neglected to explore the effect the assault has on academic performance (Faravelli, Guigni, Salvatori, & Ricci, 2004). Can being sexually victimized within the first or second semester of a female’s freshman year of college negatively impact academic performance? Current research has shown that several feelings such as shock and confusion immediately after the assault can later lead to posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and suicide as some of the long-term effects (Faravelli, Guigni, Salvatori, & Ricci, 2004). These emotional problems can inflict extreme stress on the student, preventing them from fully focusing on academics and in turn can lead to a lower GPA.

Even though college campuses have taken steps to try and spread awareness about sexual assault on college campuses, many young people do not know what domestic violence looks—or feels like. A 2011 poll on domestic and dating abuse concluded that 1 in 3 surveyed women had been in an abusive relationship, while 1 in 5 had been abused at some point during their college career (Moscou, 2015). Those numbers, though taken from a small group, are very scary. About half of those students said they had not received any education on what domestic violence looks like, or what to do to help a friend in that kind of situation (Moscou, 2015). I want to help lower those numbers. I want to, and I can accomplish, a campaign to help raise awareness

May victims of rape will suffer long term psychological effects which may include depression, anxiety, social isolations, low self-esteem and sexual dysfunction. These symptoms may lead a victim to become addicted