Sexual Assault On College Campuses

Despite having hundreds of sexual assault cases each year, most colleges take little action to resolve these cases. In fact, only 20% of female sexual assault survivors report cases, the rest believing that it was too personal to share, or that if they did, the police wouldn’t listen to them. If they did report, often times it was to the local police rather than the campus police in fear that they would be shamed or turned away by the universities.

Freshmen and sophomores have a greater risk for on campus rape and sexual assault during the first semester of college (Wyatt, T., Oswald S. 2014). One way to make incoming students aware of their risks they have while attending a university is by providing sex education in higher education setting. This curriculum should include consent education, which discusses having permission to perform sexual acts, as well as recognizing how and when to report a crime. It may be argued that this is something that should have been covered in high school, but a refresher course on sexual education could be beneficial. College students are adults, and adults should be given information to keep themselves and others safe while attending the university. This information could be given at incoming freshmen orientation, first year

“Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault” (RAINN). Rape is a threat virtually anywhere people go, but no place has a higher risk for sexual assault than college campuses. However, many of these occurrences go without penalties against the attacker, and even more are not reported at all. The lack of consequences for the accused indirectly suggests that rape and other forms of sexual assault are allowable and create further problems for the victims of the horrendous actions. Harsher punishments need to be given out for sexual assault on campus, as the current rulings are biased and immoral.

Look around at four of your female friends; according to “Not Alone,” a US Government report on sexual assault, by the time you graduate college, one of you will become a victim of sexual assault. For years, schools have struggled with figuring out how to handle this epidemic. Many schools just don’t focus on sexual assault; for example, according to Rolling Stone’s article, "Rolling Stone and UVA: The Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism Report" by Sheila Coronel, Steve Coll, and Derek Kravitz, The University of Virginia has expelled 183 students for academic dishonesty and 0 students for sexual assault. This shows how policymakers have pushed sexual assault to the side for decades on college campuses, despite frequent protests and requests from students for colleges to make campuses safer. Sexual assaults on college campuses have been mishandled throughout history, and colleges that have made policy changes have often made ineffective or misguided choices. Colleges need to adopt a “yes means yes” policy for verbal consent and should model their policies after the University of Kentucky’s successful “green dot” program.

Many teens enter college expecting a different atmosphere from what they had in high school, but in reality they may have more to worry about than they originally thought. Although the number of cases of sexual assault on college campuses has decreased since 1993 it is still a relevant topic. 5% of women, every year, on college campuses experience rape or attempted rape as reported by One in Four, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prevention of rape. 11% of women who experience rape actually report it to the police; most sworn campus law enforcement officials

In America, sexual assault is increasing on campuses. Colleges and Universities are insanely lenient with the policies of sexual assault and misconduct. Undergraduates get the worse since they are new and don’t expect it to happen to them. Date rape drugs are being used more often than any other type of assault. Over half of victims don’t report the assault, because they don’t believe it’s critical enough. Others never get justice for the crimes the rapist commits. “A relatively small percentage of students believe it is very or extremely likely they will experience sexual assault or misconduct. A larger percentage of students believe that sexual assault

In 2016, The United States Department of Justice released this chilling fact: one out of every four female undergraduates will be victim to some form of sexual assault before graduation. Even more terrifying, the American Civil Liberties Union estimates that at least 95 percent of sexual assaults on college campuses in the United States go unreported. These striking statistics resonate a dire call for increased prevention of sexual assault on campuses across the nation. With the passing of the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators in 1994, many universities and colleges began to enact sexual assault protection programs (Breitenbecher Hanson). However, as proven by the recent statistics presented earlier, these programs 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

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

Colleges have begun to share the number of sexual assault cases that occur on campus and are making efforts in order to produce a smaller number. They are trying to influence more victims to speak up about sexual assault and are creating an easier way to report these crimes on college campuses. Today, there are multiple solutions to solving the crime of sexual assault, and a substantial amount of these methods are being implemented at colleges nationwide. While sexual assault is common on numerous school campuses and is the most underreported crime in America, the government, along with colleges, are doing what they can in order to persuade more victims to report it and prevent it from

Sexual assault on college campuses has become a hot topic in today’s society. From the Stanford swimmer, Brock Turner, raping an unconscious woman (Miller, 2016, para.1) to the Florida State star football player, Jameis Winston, being accused of rape and FSU covering it up (Dick, 2016, para 1), sexual assault on campus is everywhere. The prevalence of reported assaults is often skewed, due to women feeling uncomfortable about discussing what they went through, but the numbers tell the story all on their own. Many of these occurrences happen because of frats, and the alcohol they serve. Groups have started to advocate for the ending of sexual assault on campus by creating apps. The government was involved in creating the Title IX law only recently. Sexual assault on college campuses has become a major issue in the United States, so that it has become increasingly prevalent to the public eye, the causes of these attacks are coming to light such as fraternities and alcohol, how the government is battling it, what colleges and universities are doing about it, and how prevention apps have become the new trend.

The White House Task Force created to protect college students from being victims of sexual assault published a report in 2014 where is stated that one in five college students will become a victim of an assault while attending college (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), 2016). The ACLU says that 95% of all college campus rapes go unreported every single year (American Civil Liberties Union, 2016). We as a society need to ask ourselves what we can do to protect college students. Sexual assault can be defined as involuntary or forced and unwanted sexual activity which can include, kissing, exhibitionism, groping and rape (Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), 2016). It’s reported that two out of three victims of

College campuses do not know how to handle sexual assault scandals. Colleges are mostly focused on keeping their image clean. According to Gail Sullivan, the Department of Education has a list of 55 institutions under investigation for sexual assault and not handling it like they are suppose to. College should be a safe environment for students to get an education. We mentioned in class that colleges should have a defense course, so women could learn how to protect themselves, and be informed on what is happening in campus. Gail mentions that there is a bill that requires verbal or written contract in order to receive a clear consent for sex. Meanwhile, I believe that is helpful but not as likely if the victim is intoxicated. A written contract is good, but a perpetrator would not even acknowledge it. Sexual assault is considered when some one is raped while unconscious or through force. As long as the girl or boy, mostly girl verbally states that they want to have sex, where it would be considered permission, other than saying nothing which could be considered assault. Although, a document is something good to have, so it is

Sexual assault for higher education students occurs more frequently against women, but any gender can be victimized. All ethnicities and social classes are affected. While the rate of violent crime against higher education students aged 18–24 in the United States declined significantly from 1995 to 2002, the rates of rape and other sexual assault largely remained the same. Estimates of sexual assault, which vary based on definitions and methodology, range from 0.61% of female students sexually assaulted annually to 19–27% of college women and 6–8% of college men sexually assaulted during their time in college.

Campus sexual assault is a big problem due to the fact of how many times it has happened and what the campus police and the university administrators actions on this. The conviction for this offense is mandatory sex offender registration after they have been released from prison. But, since most students who have been raped are not comfortable with reporting this crime to the campus police, or university administrators simply because they usually turn the blame unto them instead of the one who is being accused of this crime for the sake of the college’s reputation.