Sexual Assault on College Campuses
Sexual assault is rampant in campuses and treated as a regular occurrence hence attracting little attention from the college to the national media. However, the victims continue to speak out about their experiences and the effect of such experiences on their professional life within the campus. Women are the most victims of sexual violence within universities. Sexual assault on college campuses affects the self-efficacy and self-esteem of victims leading to anxiety and fear. Most colleges have created an environment where rape culture thrives. Rape culture is the normalization of sexual violence against women and excused in the media and popular culture ("Rape Culture," 2018). The culture creates a society that demonstrates an absolute disregard for the rights and safety of women. Rape culture is inflicted on women through the objectification of women bodies, use of misogynistic language and glamorization of sexual violence. Rape culture creates an environment where the victims are blamed, trivializing sexual assault, tolerance of sexual assaults and manipulating statistics on rapes. The culture encourages male dominance and submission by women to men.
Sexual Assault Against Women
Sexual assault against women is a sensitive issue within college campuses and attracts ridicule from perpetrators. Men tend to talk and compliment women based on their attractiveness and body shapes. As such, female students are subjected to public embarrassment and criticism by male students within the campus if they do not conform to the expected demands. Male students treat females as weak and need social protection from the dominant manhood. However, the rape culture may be minimized by avoiding the use of language that objectifies women, being respectful to others and supporting the victims (Newlands, 2016).
Football and Sexual Assault
Although there is no direct link between football and sexual assault, the partying and drinking that accompany football matches significantly increases contact between men and women in college hence perpetuating rape culture. Research by Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that 20% of female students are raped or assaulted at least once in their college life (Cook, 2016). One in every 71 male students is sexually assaulted on campus at least once in his lifetime (Stoia, 2018). Besides, a survey by Kaiser Family Foundation indicates that 62% of the victims took alcohol before the assault or attending a football match (Cook, 2016). Therefore, understanding the pathways to rape is essential in mitigating the problem.
Codes of Conduct on College Campuses
In addition, the codes of conduct regarding sexual assaults are considered unfair and lack a precise mechanism for handling rape cases on campus. The University of Columbia is part of the list of universities with ineffective codes for handling sexual offenders. The number of on-campus rape cases has been increasing. Besides, the university lack powers to prosecute offenders hence creating a negative public perception on how it handles rape cases. Offenders are not brought to book and victims are outwardly dismissed. Strict codes of conducts prevent over 60% of victims from reporting assault cases to the authorities (Crocker, 2017).
The Columbia University Mattress Girl Case
The Columbia University Mattress Girl case involving Emma Sulkowicz and the institution attracted public criticism on how the institution showed negligence to sexual assault on women that forced Emma to carry her mattress around the campus to protest miscarriage of justice. Despite Emma reporting the incident to the authorities, Nungesser was vindicated, and Emma was not satisfied with the decision of the university. The case could have been avoided if the university had effective codes of conducts stipulating the consequences for assaulting women. The university could have investigated the matter to ascertain the facts before dismissing the allegations. Besides, sexual assault and violence have been increasing for the last 30 years. In the previous 15 years, sexual assault on campuses has increased by 205% from 2200 cases in 2001 to 6700 cases in 2014 (Crocker, 2017). Therefore, there is need to formulate policies and campaigns to create public awareness and reduce the menace.
References
Cook, L. (2016). Want Less Rape On-Campus? Get Rid of College Football. Retrieved from https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/data-mine/articles/2016-01-07/the-connection-between-college-football-and-rape-on-campus
Crocker, L. (2017). There’s Been a Huge Increase in Campus Sex Assaults. Why?. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/theres-been-a-huge-increase-in-campus-sex-assaults-why
Newlands, R. (2016). A Critical Review of Sexual Violence Prevention on College Campuses. Acta Psychopathologica, 02(02). doi: 10.4172/2469-6676.100040
Rape Culture - Women's Center - Marshall University. (2018). Retrieved from https://www.marshall.edu/wcenter/sexual-assault/rape-culture/
Stoia, G. (2018). Does college football have a rape culture? BIG Ten players weigh in. Retrieved from https://www.freep.com/story/sports/college/2018/08/03/brenda-tracy-college-football-sexual-assault/857226002/
