Sexual Assault on College Campuses Essay Example

One in five women in college experience sexual assault. One in five. And few women are actually taken seriously then they report their abuse. Sexual assault is one of the most common crimes in America today, so it's no surprise that it’s also frequent on college campuses. Many higher education institutions are not doing enough to raise awareness about sexual harassment and don't do enough to support their vicitmized students.

Society as a whole has become so desensitized to the idea of sexual assault, and it has become a bigger issue because of this. This normalization stems from a lack of education, or awareness, on the topic. Schools need to educate their students on sensitive topics like this so that people are more aware of these issues. Why is this so normalized in environments where you are supposed to learn right from wrong?

Colleges and universities, specifically, need to acknowledge the fact that sexual assult is beocming a more pressing concern in the academic world. Implementing serious policies would let students know that they have support and that serious actions will be taken. Sex education is a failure becuase all aspects of aren't covered. This class needs to be properly taught so people can understand basic things, like consent. Accurately teaching sex ed would also help to eliminate the stigma that surrounds the conversation about sexual assault. They really just need to create an environment that ALL students feel safe in.Things like this need to be done so that this topic becomes normalized in the schools culture. This rape culture that has been created in academic environments needs to go. 

Colleges that are known to be “party schools” could also impact the rate of sexual abuse. Students that go to parties and get wasted, aren't as aware of what's going on around them and that can pose a danger to them. Now I’m not victim blaming here, I’m just saying that drugs and alcohol have a huge influence on this. People could also be more likely to prey on someone while intoxicated. These schools need to get involved, and get their students under control so 

Plenty of colleges have high rates of sexual assault (right?). So why aren't victims taken seriously? Schools don't want to face the public scrutiny that comes along with a case, so nothing is being done. Nothing is done because “boys will be boys”. “Women are too emotional”, so nothing will be done. Because “she was asking for it”. 

These “prestigious” colleges/universities, or whatever, don't want to ruin their image or damage their reputation, so they will do next to nothing to punish abusers, but that in itself taints their image, so it's a lose-lose situation for them. You would think that they would be more willing to show support, and in doing so, it  would show more people that it's a good place to be, that they are doing everything they can to make their school community safe.

There are so many factors that deter college students from coming forward. They are afraid of being shamed or embarrassed or blamed. Creating an environment that is so unsupportive and cruel basically encourages victims to stay silent. Ignorance plays a huge part in this. Women that come forward will inevitably be ridiculed by those that sympathize with the abuser. 

Some people will argue that rape culture is not present in college. They would, obviously, be wrong, but they might just be uneducated on the topic. According to the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, among undergraduate students, 26.4 percent of females and 6.8 percent of males have reported being sexually assaulted. That is just the reported percentage, and there are undoubtedly more. So many cases go unreported because of the lack of resources made available to students. Victim blaming and defending perps is a huge issue in rape culture, but some people disagree with the idea of a rape cultire entirely. As mentioned before, abusers tend to get merciful punishments, and that in itself proves that rape culture is apparent and thriving in schools. 

Ultimately, sexual assault sucks. Many higher education institutions are not doing enough in terms of support and they are on fuelig this rape culture in their community. As said by Cleo Murphy-Hogg, “Rape culture is ingrained within schools and is a systemic issue”.