How To Regulate Sexual Assault

We tend to pay more attention to subjects in the news that usually relate and have an impact on our lives. I for one, am normally like that. When I saw the list of topics to choose from, I felt like I had a good understanding of all of the topics except for one. Although I did have a base of understanding about sexual assault, I knew there was still a lot for me to learn to truly know the topic. Before diving into the issue, I decided that I wanted to focus on a few specific questions. What are the roles of the victim and perpetrator, and what causes them to make the decisions they make? How many people report that they have been sexualy assulted to the police, and how would society change their decision to report it? Why does the perpetrator

According to our Department of Defense in May 2016 there were 6,083 reports of sexual assault in the military. The numbers reported in 2014 were 6,131, which is a slight decrease from more current statistics. Those who are serving in the armed forces specifically women are falling victim to sexual assault. Being sexually assaulted can cause post-traumatic stress disorder all on its own without the factor of physically being in combat. This is my first concern that identified in the articles that I read. The second concern that arose during my reading was when the victim of sexual assault wants to take action against their assailant.

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver shows the women of the Congo as being the workers of the family. They take care of the children, going so far as to carry them around constantly once they reach a certain age, and they are responsible for all the housework. The females are seen as capable and have many responsibilities. In spite of this, the reality for the real women of the Congo is that they are in constant fear of being a victim of sexual violence. Sexual violence can happen anywhere, but in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) it occurs on a daily basis (Ganzamungu and Maharaj 737).

In society and college campuses, sexual assault occurs quite frequently. According to an estimation one third of women experience a forced sexual experience at least once in their life and most of the time it occurs in colleges. Men have also been reported to be victim of sexual assaults mostly by other men. Most of the time the sexual assault is planned and perpetrated by a third person, who is known to the victim of incident. Drug and alcohol use play role in this issue and contribute to the problem as most of the time the victim and perpetrators are under the effect of alcohol or any other drug during the incident. It looks scary how vulnerable the survivor can be at the time of assault. However, as long as the matter of violence is associated, the students at college campuses are safer than their non-college mates. Some training and education has been administrated to the students for awareness about the violence and sexual assaults. Even, with increased training and education, most of the college campuses have much longer way to go for decreasing the intensity and number of assaults and the incidents have immense negative impact on the society and people around us.

According to the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network, another person endures sexual assault every 98 seconds. This information may have been shocking ten years ago, but for many, this news is a basic fact of life. Sexual assault cases have continued to become more and more common as time goes on. What is causing this surge in unwanted physical contact? The cause of sexual assault is one hundred percent of the time, the assaulter’s fault. Sexual assault is never caused by a “rape culture” or the clothing that one chooses to wear. Sexual assault is caused by the attacker, never the victim. Sexual assault is an issue very prevalent in our society today and is starting to get recognized because of the bravery of these victims. Cases like the Larry Nassar case, the Harvey Weinstein case, and the Brock Turner case are just some examples of sexual assault that our society is fighting today.

Sexual violence can affect anyone. There is no end all be all strategy to avoid any and all sexual violence. However, studies have shown that some people are more likely to be affected by sexual violence than others. Typically, the people most likely to be at risk of sexual violence are people who are disenfranchised, in prison where a whole different cultural dynamic exists and people who can’t care for themselves. Just a few of these groups are Native American women, male prisoners, and children.

Recent headlines have highlighted the fact that rape culture is prevalent in our society, most noticeably on college campuses. To understand why this is a social issue we first have to understand what rape culture entails. Rape culture is a set of assumptions that reinforces male sexual aggression and disregards violence against females (Hildebrand & Najdowski, 2015, p. 1062). Simplified, it is an environment where sexual violence is normalized and most of the time excused.

The United States is facing a growing problem that shows no signs of slowing: sexual assaults on college campuses. Possible reasons for this epidemic are explained by Janet Napolitano, the current president of the University of California. She describes that “young adults live independently and in close proximity to one another for the first time” while attending college (Napolitano 387). The college setting provides students with opportunities to take advantage of one another. As a result, sexual assaults have become an issue across universities in the United States. Sexual assaults are a problem because they can have lasting effects on victims. It is the job of both the government and colleges to find solutions to the problem, by preventing

Which campus will be next? It is not a question of it, but when and where? College is the first time students get to spend time without parental guidance. In fact, college is a place where many students learn about themselves, but are they safe? Campuses are filled with all kinds of students, including different ages. Unfortunately, not every student will have a positive mindset or respect of others. Nowadays, the most assaults happen on a college campus and this is a serious issue that can be prevented. Research claims that, “Eighteen percent experienced an attempted and/or completed sexual assault since entering college.” (NSVRC) On an average, that is one in five students worldwide, but we can make those numbers decrease greatly with a

Many of the victims of sexual assault know their assailant personally. Allison one of the victims whom story Krakauer mentions in his book. Her assailant was her best friend Beau Donaldson. He was someone she put her life in their hands. She trusted him enough to tell him everything. “Donaldson often referred to Huguet as his “little sister,” and the sentiment was reciprocated”(5). This is just wrong in so many ways.

Building upon earlier work, they used approximately 4,500 female college students to report their sexual victimization. The analysis revealed few incidents, including rapes, are reported to police and/or campus authorities, a high portion disclosing to close friends.

In support of April’s Sexual Assault Awareness Month, the Office of Health Promotion and Wellness at DePaul University has partnered with various departments and student lead organizations to bring forth information in coping, recognizing and preventing sexual violence.

In their opinion piece published in the New York Times, Miriam Gleckman-Krut and Nicole Bedera, two students from University of Michigan, claim that students being accused of sexual assault on-campus should not be the ones providing the definition of sexual assault because more victims will stay silent. Their article tackles the research question “how does allowing the accused to define sexual assault affect the victim?”. The piece was written in response to Betsy DeVos, Secretary of Education, who claimed that former President Obama’s policies on on-campus rape stripped the accused of their liberties because less evidence was required from the victims, who often struggle to create concreate evidence due to trauma or difficulty remembering.

The 1960s: a time period that highlighted some of the most influential civil rights movements, but have we really improved since then? Since the beginning of time women have been treated unfairly; they are more prone to being sexually assaulted/raped, have ridiculous beauty standards to live up to, and overall are treated like objects of submission and erotic pleasure. Like men, women deserve the ability to choose the lives they want to live and be who they want to be without fear and judgement. The novel, God Don’t Like Ugly by Mary Monroe, analyzes the objectification of women and provides insight to issues in the 60s that are still prevalent today.

A few reasons a person may not report a rape includes: denial, fear of the legal system, fear of retaliation, guilt and blame, personal matters and victim-offender relationship. Due to denial, victims do not report rape because they may not be sure if it was rape. In order for a victim to come to the decision of reporting rape he or she needs to realize it was rape. Some victims do not realize it was rape due to the issue of less violence (Burgess et al., pg.376). The victims who report their rapes are the ones who acknowledge it was rape and the rape that occurred was more violent (Burgess et al., pg.376). In other words, the rapes that included more violence included acts such as being held down, slapped around and seriously injured while on the other hand less violent rapes may include verbal abuse so victims may not acknowledge this is still rape even if they were not seriously injured (Burgess et al., pg.376).