Sexual Assault On College Campuses Essay

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.

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).

Problems arise when colleges do not supply their students with adequate support, and allowing repeat offenders to remain in the college. The college can prevent possible obstacles by creating an environment to encourage reporting and discourage sexual assault. Also, the elimination of repeat offenders will prevent future sexual assault on campus. Interactive workshops and early education provide essential knowledge about sexual assault and general safety to students entering college. A single prevention effort will not end sexual assault, but through collaboration with education and preventative actions could lead to a safer environment for college

This is the Red Zone, the time period when first year college students are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault and rape. Statistics show that most assaults occur during the first several weeks of college and the victims are overwhelmingly young women who are first year freshmen (Senn 135). The feelings experienced by the victim and the setting for the crime are too common because the current system fails to adequately address sexual assault and rape. To add to the emotional stress involved with sexual assault and rape, victims are often unable to clearly define what happened and find it difficult to seek justice. Sexual assault and rape are pervasive issues on college campuses for several reasons. First, educational institutions do not provide the tools needed to identify potential harmful situations. Second, students do not understand where to seek proper support to help deal with the physical and emotional scars. Third, victim face a battle when attempting to navigate the process to seek justice. In order to prevent sexual assault and rape during the vulnerable first weeks in college, young women must demand that these issues are addressed. Specifically, early education, medical treatment and assistance reporting after the incident and an understanding of the path to prosecution will mitigate the risk in the Red

Despite federal laws issued to combat sexual violence, each year 4,000 college women report to school officials that they've been sexually assaulted. What happens after they file those reports has stirred debate on campuses across the country, leaving parents and students fearful that colleges may not be the ivory towers of security and integrity that appear on their recruitment pamphlets.

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.

The article introduces sexual assault to readers as a problem that is in line with other forms of violence such as domestic violence, dating violence and stalking. It gives a figure of 19% undergraduate women who have reported a complete or attempted sexual assault while in campus and worth noting is that in most of the incidences, the victims knew the perpetrators, who also feature in other related crimes.

Danger can take shape in many forms, one of the most prevalent in our society today sexual assault. According to the Campus Sexual Assault Study (CSA), 1 of 5 women will be sexually assaulted during their experience at college. This is a staggering and frightening amount. A study commissioned by the U.S. Department of Justice, The Sexual Victimization of College Women, has findings even more grim than the CSA. It states that 1 of 4 college women will be raped.

Today, for college students, there are many causes and risks that lead to sexual victimization. These include; the usage of alcohol and drugs, prior victimization, lack of cases being reported, and the factors go on. According to RAINN, Statistics show that “about two out of three sexual assaults are committed by an attacker that the victims

Sexual assault on college campuses is a subject that comes up commonly in media today, usually due to the fact that these assaults happen on a regular basis. About one in four women and one in seven men are victims of some form of sexual violence during their college experience (Abooali). In most occurances when speaking about sexual assault on campus, people are talking about what the main cause of these cases of sexual assault could be, and if there is any way to prevent it from happening. There are many factors that play into these sexual assaults such as alcohol consumption, peer pressure, society's normalization of these assaults, and party culture.

Throughout history, there has been many different types of sexual assault cases. In all of these cases, sexual assault pertains to forced, sexual actions or behavior on a person without their explicit consent. In an article conducted by the New York Times, it said, “In four years of college, more than one-fourth of undergraduate women at a large group of leading universities said they had been sexually assaulted by force or when they were incapacitated”( Perez-Pena). An abounding amount of women are being sexually assaulted during their time as a college student. One in four women in college will be sexually assaulted in college. To add to being sexually assaulted, in a recent research conducted by the National Institute of Justice, researchers discovered that, “Sexual assault is widely considered to be the most underreported violent crime  in America. Most sexual assaults on campus are committed by an acquaintance of the victim, which explains, in part, why these crimes are underreported”(Karjane ii). There are many people who are afraid to report their incident to the school or the police. In most cases, they are afraid of letting their friends or family know, so they don 't have a support system to help them. The EROC provides support systems for students by connecting them to a survivor. By doing that victims will be able to heal quicker.

Sexual assault is everywhere, but did you know that on college campuses one of every four people have been a victim of sexual assault (Stampler 1). That is a staggering statistic of just how many people are affected by this crime. Sexual assault, while a long standing crime, has been brought into the spotlight more and more over the last twenty years. While there are several steps already in place to help lower this statistic there are additional things that can be done to help reduce the rate of sexual assaults on college campuses. By being more open with conversations about sexual assault, having support groups available, and changing policies universities can be successful in reducing the number of sexual assaults on their campuses.

College can be one of the most influential and exciting times of self-discovery and exploration in a young woman’s life. In addition to expanding academic horizons, a woman’s college years can be used as a time of self-exploration and discovery. For some students, however, despite all the wonderful experience college has to offer, young women need to be mindful of a silent issue plaguing campuses everywhere: sexual assault. Gager defines sexual assault as “a public health and public safety problem with far-reaching implications.” According to Wikipedia, sexual assault is any “involuntary sexual act in which a person is coerced or physically forced to engage against their will, or any non-consensual sexual

The research question for this study is; what are the contributing factors of sexual assault among college females? Fundamentally many aspects can contribute to assault but in this project I will concentrate on trends, possible explanations for underreporting and legal provisions that have been enforced. Of the research that was studied the main focuses are the affects of fraternities and alcohol, leading causes, reasons for not reporting, and the legal guidelines that have been put in place that are ignored by numerous college campuses.

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.