Sexual Violence Normalized

Last week, the White House released a short, celebrity packed, 60-second public service announcement (PSA) on the topic of sexual assault. 1 is 2 Many addressed those who are in control of preventing sexual assault as its intended audience was those who can put a stop to sexual violence: the perpetrators or would-be offenders. Although this one minute announcement completed the task of bringing sexual assault to the forefront of discussion, it failed to encompass the central issues concerning the culture of sexual assault: societal misperceptions, the victims, and the justice system. Sexual assault is a phenomenon that has been around for centuries; the culture of sexual assault is rooted in both legal practices and societal perceptions.

Start blaming the system, not the victim. Sexual assault is a crime that is very common, yet the punishment perpetrators receive is not as harsh as it needs to be to reduce the occurrence of these crimes. Laws concerning sexual crimes have been edited over decades to be stricter however, sex offenders typically receive little or no punishment. Sexual Assault is defined as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient (“Sexual Assault”). Victims of sexual assault are often blamed as the reason for the crime being committed while the blame is taken away from the offender. Harsher punishment must be enacted on sex offenders because the victims suffer conflict from the crime throughout their

Frustratingly, these days, some people still treat sexual assault as an “okay” thing, making comments such as “she was asking for it” and that she was “equally responsible” for the situation. This is exactly the sort of mindset that is contributing to the startling statistics today.

According to RAINN, “Only 20 percent of female student victims, age 18 through 24, report to law enforcement” (“reporting sex offenses,” n.d.). Cases such as the Turner case make other victims believe theirs no hope within the justice system. Many cases go unreported because victims see that conviction rates are low. The Turner case was no different.

As stated by an article from Bettercolleges.com, sexual assault can also involve forcing someone into non-consensual sexual acts by means of manipulation, any form of coercion, or psychological force. Sexual violence is more prevalent on college campuses compared to other crimes. In fact, according to Rainn.org college women are twice as likely to be sexually assaulted as they are to be robbed. The sad reality is that these victim’s voices are often never heard: only 5 percent of female student victims between the ages of 18 and 24 ever report to law enforcement because of factors such as distrust of authorities and fear of blame (“Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics”). In regard to male victims, they oftentimes face different types of stigma branching from issues such as stereotypes about hyper masculinity, sexual desire, and what it means to “be a man” in society, preventing them from reporting unwanted sexual activity (“Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus”). In the cases of both men and women, these assaults are often enhanced by the increased presence of alcohol and drugs on campuses. For instance, one study found that 15 percent of young women experienced incapacitated rape during their first year of college, meaning that when were raped when they could not give consent because they did not know what was happening (“Sexual Assault on College Campuses”). Peer pressure to participate in these types of social activities puts victims in a more vulnerable position for sexual assault. This environment in which rape is prevalent and in which sexual violence against women is normalized and excused by leaders within the school system is known as rape

Sexual violence is sickeningly commonplace. In the United States, federal data suggests a new sexual assault occurs every two minutes. (http://www.wcsap.org/how-often-does-it-happen)

The Centers for Disease control reports that one out of every five women will be sexually assaulted or raped during their lifetime with most victims being girls or younger women. According to RAINN, the Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network (https://www.rainn.org) which calls itself “the nation 's largest anti-sexual assault organization,” nine out of ten rape victims are women and there are more than 237,000 victims of sexual assault in the U.S. every year, with a reporting rate of only 40 percent. Eighty percent of victims are under 30. Two-thirds of all the reported assaults are by someone known to the victim and only 3 percent of rapists get any jail time. The effects of rape are long lasting and have public health and social welfare consequences. According to RAINN, victims of sexual assault have higher rates of depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and drug and alcohol abuse than the general population. Rape is a personal issue because of the trauma it induces in its

Prosecutors and police officers may be less likely to believe victims if they have no signs of physical abuse like cuts, bruises, or scrapes, or if they have known their attackers for a long time (Hilgenkamp 163). Victims often feel ashamed and humiliated for bringing their experiences forward and become frustrated and furtherly emotionally damaged (Hilgenkamp 163). Dealing with sexual assault cases differently based on the victim’s state and story is unfair to the survivor and will only further hurt someone who has already suffered through a traumatic ordeal since it causes them feel as though they are not being listened to or heard. In addition to investigations that are often biased and poorly conducted, the number of convictions made in sexual assault cases is astonishingly small. A few years ago, “The Chicago Tribune published the results of a study involving 171 campus sex complaints at six Midwestern universities. Twelve of the accused perpetrators were arrested, and only four were convicted” (Hedelman and Brown). Due to the low conviction rates, many women feel as though their allegations of having been sexually assaulted are not being taken seriously or even acknowledged (Hedelman and Brown). Unfortunately, sexual assault is a popular crime on college campuses, but when victims bring their stories forward to law enforcers, they are not taken seriously and severe punishments are rarely given to assaulters, which further harms people who have already been wrongly treated. Police and investigators have to change the ways in which they deal with sexual assault cases because investigations are unfairly biased and are usually so inaccurately conducted that most offenders

One in four college-aged women has experienced rape or attempted rape, although 95% of attacks go unreported.” According to a survey from the American Association of University Women, the results showed that there are 3% of women in the colleges across the country have been raped or have suffered attempted rape. While only 2% of incapacitated rape survivors report assault. There are several reasons why many women do not report being raped or sexually assaulted. Many female college students buy into myths about rape and sexual assault causing them to believe that it was their fault and that they were somewhat responsible for what happened. Most victims usually blame themselves, so they choose not to come forward, some others are scared that law enforcement won’t believe them, while others are simply embarrassed, or they might be afraid their attacker might retaliate. A friend of my friend, she has been sexually assaulted after deinking, but sadly as a victim of a rape, she was too scared to step forward and she didn’t even report the rape to the law enforcement because she thought it was her fault to drink alcohol. She was also too embarrassed and uncomfortable to talk about the rape and answer any questions. Even she chose to drink alcohol, what happened is not her fault. Because whatever the reason is, no woman should blame herself for being raped or sexually

As a college student, I am part of a culture that seems to brush aside sexual assault and blames the victim. All too often I read news of an attack, and too seldom do I hear information of how to not commit assault.

Many real rapists and sexual offenders go uncharged or poorly charged. According to Opposing Viewpoints, “Law enforcement is not a viable solution to campus rape because police do a terrible job of holding rapists accountable. According to a recent analysis of Department of Justice data, only 3 percent of all rapists—not just campus rapists—will ever spend a day in jail. Only 40 percent of all rapes are reported to police, and of those, only 10 percent will lead to a felony conviction with slightly fewer seeing the inside of a jail cell” (Caroline, and Baillee Brown). Rapists are not charged fairly because they don’t have a good way to charge them in court. The victims end up feeling helpless and vulnerable with their attacker walking

Sexual abuse effects everyone. The victim, their families, their friends, the university and even the culprit. This has become a global issue with the recent additions of universities opening all over the world but also students studying abroad. According to rainn.org women between the ages of 18-24 are at a higher risk of sexual violence. Going off that they also state that women in college are three times more susceptible to sexual assault. Yet, women between those ages that are not in college are four times more likely (rainn.org, 2016, table 1). Unfortunately many women do not report the crimes to the University or local law enforcements. Which is extremely

I choose this topic because sexual assault is one of the most offensive crimes committed in our society. Not only is it a threat to the community, but it has a physically and psychologically effect on the victim in many ways. For the last couple of decades, sexual assault, rape, and child molestation has become the focal point of public concerns today. According to a 1993 National Crime Victimization Survey conducted by the U.S. Department of Justice, about 500,000 rapes or sexual assaults occur each year (Statistics, March 2010). The Department of Justice states that, “rape crimes have risen nearly three times as fast as the total crime rate”, although other studies have shown statistics that are in

Women, girls, men, and boys are vulnerable victims of sexual assaults every day in our country. While females experience much higher rates of sexual assaults than males. The problem that this country faces is the lack of being able to track rapist, in addition to the victims that chose not to report their assault of being raped to the police. Issues of under reporting comes from the victims with multiple reasons that hinders them from reporting these heinous criminal acts. Thus, the sad realization is that the perpetrator is usually some one that you know, that you would of never of thought that they could and would, and do sexually assault you.

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