Studying Human Behavior : How It Impacts Decision Making, And Vice Versa

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).

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

In the article “Athletic club weekend turns into a nightmare for college freshman” by Carol smith and Lee Van Der Voo, Emily Lorenzen shares her story of being a rape victim. Emily shares her account because she wants to help to prevent rape from happening to anyone else. After interviewing Emily the authors shared a statement expressing that “Emily lorenzen believes that if people hear her story, they will be more comfortable confronting the issue of sexual assault on campus. She wants more conversation, so that men get a clearer definition of rape, face stiffer penalties if they ignore it and administrators learn to reach out to women like her and show compassion. She especially wants bystanders to step up and protect people who are vulnerable.” Rape victims need support to not feel guilty or ashamed, and that is exactly what Emily and her father desire. On this topic, Shipman an influential contributor of the Spokane sexual assault

I interviewed two women and one man about the University of Iowa’s efforts with respect to sexual assault on campus. The first person I interviewed was a twenty-one year old woman from England named Gina. Michaela, an eighteen year old female from a small-town Southern Baptist high school, was the second female I interviewed. The only man I interviewed was Matt, a 19 year old male from a mid-sized town.

The Bystander Program focuses on a wider audience and is aimed at changing community norms regarding sexual assault. Meaning instead of primarily focusing on woman as being the primary victims of sexual assaults and men as the perpetrators, bystander programs approach both as bystanders of sexual assault (Banyard, Moynihan, & Plante, 2007; Baynard et al., 2004; Hines & Palm Reed, 2011). These types of programs have been known to change the attitudes towards sexual assaults, the willingness to help, empathy for victims and

According the American Civil Liberties Union, a staggering 95% of rapes on college campuses go unreported. The reason we see such low report rates is reflective upon the extreme need for on campus prevention and support systems. Since the Obama administration has come into office, President Obama and Vice President Biden have enacted a program known as the Not Alone Project. This program attempts to break the silence about sexual violence on college campuses and reach out to provide victims with the support they need by reaching out to other victims and giving them the support and avenues they need to seek justice, a sense of safe and well-being after going through the horrors of a sexual assault. This program also aims to spread awareness

Imagine this, you just moved into your dorm at your first choice of school ready to start the next four years of college, only to get taken advantage of sexually by an upperclassman at your first college party. This is just one of the many scenarios the documentary “The Hunting Ground” tells and happens to sixteen percent of women who start their college careers. The film tells the inspirational story of Andrea Pino and Annie Clark, two UNC Chapel Hill graduates, and their continuous journey to end sexual assaults on college campuses and to motivate schools to stand up for their students. While sexual assault has unfortunately always been a part of the college experience, the epidemic has reached a breaking point in recent years, and the documentary

When young adults graduate high school and get ready to begin their first year of college, it is already nerve-racking to adapt to a new place and new people that a sexual assault is the last thing that one would think could happen to them. In an article, “Examining Sexual Assault on College Campuses,” by Kelsey Wank she reports

Our “Wooster Clothesline” would draw attention to this crucial issue and we hope that it would produce less tolerance in the campus community towards those who perform these actions. This clothesline is inspired by a similar project that has been carried out at Utah Valley University every year since 1998. There, the community and college come together to “recognize and prevent violence, reach out to survivors, and make a difference in the community” (“Clothesline Project” 1). This project, we hope, would reap the same benefits, allowing victims to break the silence and stigma associated with sexual violence. We chose this project because of its ability to show how wide-spread effect sexual violence has. If this form of violence has not happened in someone’s immediate group of friends, they may be likely to brush it off, thinking that it doesn’t encompass as many innocent people as it does. Even on campus, some students are not comfortable with sharing their stories and yet have faced some degree of sexual harassment. Contrarily, some students have committed some amount of sexual violence and are still welcome to further their education. Less than 7% of accused college-age perpetrators actually face prosecution for their crimes (American Association of University Professors 2). As stated on “The Clothesline Project’s” website, “women are battered

Throughout the world, chaos and conflict is prevalent in today’s society. Such as sexual assault and alcohol abuse in colleges and parties. In the article “Straight Talk for College Women” by Jennifer Braceras and the HBO miniseries called “The Night of” both discusses these issues in a very unique way.

The climate around disclosing instances of rape is slowly changing. With campaigns such as It’s On Us and Know Your Power becoming more prevalent in the main stream media and college culture, it is important to not only apprehend assailants but to prevent rape before it occurs. If Cal State Fullerton is unfortunate enough to align with Jackie Speier’s claim that “20 percent of coeds say they’ve been sexually assaulted,” then a mass overhaul of current rape prevention programs is necessary. Using communication theory and the construct of social action in community organizing, it is possible to create a comprehensive and effective program to decrease the incidence of rape, or potentially more forms of sexual assault, on college campuses.

I was surprised to learn that 1 in 4 women will suffer from a sexual assault in their college career, that is the same rate at which someone could get cancer. Brought up by the project group “PSA” (Preventing Sexual Assault), they told the uncanny truth about sexual assault against women. I was not aware of how prominent this issue was locally or the difficulty victims faced reporting the issue. What was inspiring, though, apart from the sheer bravery of the presenter, was the positive outlook from the project. They are taking a very dark and negative situation to empower other survivors. It is through awareness that communities such as the college community we have here can be more informed, protected, and

A few years ago, my future and my goals were clear: I would graduate in 2017 with a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology and pursue a career in therapeutic counseling. However, my plans were altered after I was exposed to the research side of psychology. I was drawn in by the psychological insight shed on tragedies like the holocaust, why no witnesses helped Kitty Genovese after she had been stabbed, how a rape victim can misremember their assailant, and possible solutions to decrease prejudiced attitudes. What once seemed like “the mysterious way life works,” could suddenly be explored and better understood through scientific research. This intriguing field continues to answer tough questions and offer solutions on how to better individuals and society. I would like to be a part of this process, specifically through social psychology.

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.

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.