Sexual Assault: A Historical Perspective
Sexual assault is not a new occurrence, according to history. While there is continuity in the prevalence of sexual assault, particularly on campuses, the knowledge about it may vary. The issue of the high occurrence of sexual assault on campuses is what gave rise to the phenomena (Sabina, & Ho, 2014).
The Role of Social Media in Addressing Sexual Assault
Many young people have been subjected to or have gone through sexual abuse. The current forums for debate of the anti-sexual assault agenda are Facebook groups and social media sites like Twitter. These social media groups have fought for a nonsexual assault platform. To ensure that sexual attacks are completely eradicated, society and the government must collaborate. Besides, the government should pass laws that severely punish perpetrators of sexual assault. Overall, technology has enabled debates on sexual assault to lead in encouraging innovation in areas that were previously ignored.
The Impact of Social Media in University Settings
The social media sites such as Facebook Pages and groups and Twitter have been presently at the forefront in offering the platform for discussions on various subjects. In regards to sexual assault in campuses, social media has been crucial in amplifying the voices of the survivors plus the voice of the people who solidly support them. For instance, at some universities used the slogan #Not on MyCampusUP in orders to encourage their associates and collogues to shun sexual assault and to promote anti-sexual assault agenda. Notably, the slogan against sexual assault has received many pledges from fellow students that they vow not to propagate sexual assault (Sabina, & Ho, 2014). It is important that every institution of higher learning embrace students led the program to put to a stop sexual assault (Pennington, & Birthisel, 2016). This will end the silence over the subject that is affecting our society.
The Government's Role in Combating Sexual Assault
The government through the White House initiative has dedicated it's time to fight sexual assault. The government launched this initiative via a slogan, "#It is On Us" which call for everybody to be useful bystanders. The implication is that it not only the responsibility of the government to end sexual assault but also that of the people. "It is On Us" has employed the use of social media platforms such as Twitter chats, Facebook page, and Youtube videos to inspire students to be able to take the responsibilities of ensuring that their fellows safe. In particular, social media initiatives have been instrumental in promoting awareness and inspiring the people always to display positive behavior.
The Need for Effective Punishment for Perpetrators
Sexual assault encompasses inflicting either physical or mental harm to other people. This may include touching someone, striking, applying force on them without their concert among others (Marshall, Laws, & Barbaree, 2013). Different sexual assaults have different punishment. This is because these assaults have different intensities to the victims. The government through the police forwards the perpetrators of the sexual assaults to courts to face charges (Sabina, & Ho, 2014). The courts are expected to determine whether the offenders are guilty of their charges and punish them accordingly. However, most scholars have accused the law of being lenient on the perpetrators. They claim that they punishment is not enough to deter the future occurrence of similar assaults. Therefore, there is need to have the proper mode of punishment that will help to put to an end the perpetration of sexual assault.
The Ongoing Battle Against Sexual Assault in Universities
Today, sexual assault remains to be one of the violent crimes experienced in the college campuses. Victims in particular females tend to suffer from lasting psychological as well as physical effects (Marshall, Laws, & Barbaree, 2013). As a result, some of the victims are forced to drop out of the colleges. Both the government and the university administration have taken measures by initiating programs that aim to curb sexual assault. However, these measures are too slow to control the increasing rate of sexual assault (Sabina, & Ho, 2014). One of the measures that have been imitated by the government through the White House is the slogan "It's On Us" which has worked to put the focus on bystanders or the perpetrators by encouraging them to help stop sexual assault. Also, the media campaigns are correctly applied to enlighten the public to exhibit positive behavior that discourages sexual assault.
The Challenges of Reporting Sexual Assault
Sexual assaults such as rapes have been reported. However, some victims have found it difficult to report the case to the police for fear of victimization or rather because of the influence that the perpetrators have in the society (Henry, & Powell, 2015). Therefore, some reported cases lack enough evidence for proscenium. In this regard, some of the victims have not been able to get justice. The primary target group for sexual assault is females aged between 16 to 24 years of age. Further, these cases of sexual assault are believed to be prevalent on college campuses (Sabina, & Ho, 2014). Moreover, the victims are psychologically affected hence most of them find it very difficult to continue with their studies. Overall, the victims should undergo proper guidance and counseling to restore their confidence.
The Role of Technology in Addressing Sexual Assault
Students should develop apps in the college campuses to mainly focus on the flow of information especially for the case of the sexual assaults. This will enable the students to report all the cases of the sexual assaults as soon as it happens and allow appropriate punishment without the offenders interfering with the evidence (Marshall, Laws, & Barbaree, 2013). Moreover, the social media campaign ought to be encouraged in order to enable the victims of the sexual assaults freely air their problems. Further, the students within the campuses should take advantage of the technology to set out rules and ensure that all the students live by the regulation put in place by the administration. For instance, some students are being investigated by the sector of education for the sexual assaults which are a vital step in the eradication of these assaults in college campuses.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sexual assault is still present in our society today. It is quite prevalent among the college students. Moreover, their reports indicate that there has been the increase in the number of the case on sexual assault. Consequently, the efforts by the government to reduce this menace have recently led to the decrease in the number of the event of the sexual assault. Public awareness through technology has been enhanced. The slogans such as "Not On My Campus" have also enabled students to pledge to help in reducing sexual assault. Therefore, the application of technology has the capacity to sensitize the public on sexual assault. Sexual has adverse effects on the victims. Some victims have undergone emotional torture as well distress in their lives. Others have opted to drop out of college due to the trauma they face due to sexual harassment. It is important that our society shuns this retrogressive practice. There is a need to have a peaceful environment for everyone. Overall, it should be the responsibility of each and every individual to help in eliminating sexual assault.
References
Henry, N., & Powell, A. (2015). Beyond the ‘sext’: Technology-facilitated sexual violence and harassment against adult women. Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology, 48(1), 104-118.
Marshall, W. L., Laws, D. R., & Barbaree, H. (2013). Handbook of sexual assault: Issues, theories, and treatment of the offender. Springer Science & Business Media.
Pennington, R., & Birthisel, J. (2016). When new media make news: Framing technology and sexual assault in the Steubenville rape case. new media & society, 18(11), 2435-2451.
Sabina, C., & Ho, L. Y. (2014). Campus and college victim responses to sexual assault and dating violence disclosure, service utilization, and service provision. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 15(3), 201-226.
