Transform the World (Full Essay)

Sexual Assault on Campus:

A Lack of Consequences

America has a problem. According to RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network), 11.2% of college students experience some form of sexual assault. RAINN also reports that 70% of these incidents go unreported. This issue affects not only women, but men as well. Although awareness of this issue is significantly higher than it used to be, college campuses are still struggling to fix it. What can be changed to improve this situation?  Education should be the starting point. Incorporating education on what consent really means into our Health class curriculums would make a change. Some people might be unclear on what is illegal and what is not, especially when the victim is incapacitated. Another part of the solution should be harsher consequences for perpetrators that all too frequently get off with lenient punishments. We need to solve issue of campus sexual assault by educating on consent and having consequences for the perpetrators.

Sexual assault is far too common on college campuses. This deep rooted issue affects more people than one might think. 23.1% of undergraduate women and 5.4% of undergraduate men experience some form of sexual assault (Statistics). The majority of these cases include a victim that is incapacitated by alcohol or drugs (Statistics). Some don’t consider this cases as “valid” because they blame the victim for being drunk in the first place. However, my solution doesn’t include any form of victim blaming. If someone is drunk and gets sexually assaulted, it is in no way their fault. This is a serious nationwide problem that needs to be dealt with.

As far as negative effects go, there are plenty. There is the trauma the victims go through, as well as making people feel unsafe in their own community. Sometimes people experience sexual assault but do not come forward for a variety of reasons. One of the reasons is that frequently not much action is taken against the perpetrator. For example, in 2015 a Stanford student-athlete named Brock Turner raped an unconscious woman. He was proven guilty, but only given a sentence of six months with parole. This shows the kind of systemic oppression that sexual assault victims face. The judge who sentenced Brock Turner, Judge Persky, was quoted saying a “prison sentence would have a severe impact on him” (Huffington Post). But what about the impact on the victim? Brock Turner got out in just three months. How might the victim feel now that her attacker is walking around free? This lack of action by our schools and our justice system makes it more likely that people will commit these crimes and less likely that the victims will come forward.

The outlook isn’t all bad. There are prevention programs and investigations into schools going on as we speak. However, these  may not be enough. Most prevention programs are one-time hour-long educational programs focusing mainly on teaching women how to be safer. While it has made progress, this has not solved the problem.

I propose that not only do we educate on safety, but also on consent and what it means. Some may not know that if one person is drunk or incapacitated in some other way, that person cannot legally give consent. This needs to be taught right alongside regular Sex Ed in schools. The other way we can deter people from committing sexual assault is to have just consequences for the perpetrators. The Brock Turner case is an example of gross injustice. If we can make it so the judicial system and the educational system takes these issues more seriously, maybe we can bring those percentages down.

Sexual assault is often overlooked on college campuses. The ways to fix this lie in education, system reform, and consequences for those responsible. People need to feel safe on campus. People should not have to be afraid of leaving their drinks alone or walking home at night. We need to take action immediately so that the new year of college students will not feel the effects of this issue.

Works Cited

Lam, Mollie. "Ending Campus Sexual Assault Tool Kit." AAUW: Empowering Women Since 1881. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2017.

Lombardi, Kristen. "Sexual Assault On Campus." Center for Public Integrity. N.p., 24 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 May 2017.

O'Connor, Lydia, and Tyler Kingkade. "If You Don't Get Why Campus Rape Is A National Problem, Read This." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 June 2016. Web. 18 May 2017.

"Statistics." Statistics | RAINN. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 May 2017.

Zimmerman, Eilene. "Campuses Struggle With Approaches for Preventing Sexual Assault." The New York Times. The New York Times, 22 June 2016. Web. 18 May 2017.