Introduction
Any sort of sexual activity, or rather efforts to engage in sexual activity, is referred to as sexual violence. The university sexual assault epidemic in the modern era is examined in Judy Roberts’s paper, “The Campus Sexual Assault Crisis: Why Did It Happen?” One of the major public health concerns currently affecting the US is sexual violence on campuses, which affects a sizable population of college students and has both immediate and long-term effects on both their physical and emotional health.
According to Roberts’ paper, sexual assault on campuses is a complex issue because it can result from a variety of causes. Some of the causes behind the sexual violence crisis faced in the US campuses include, ‘Rape Culture’ perspective. The article explains that, although the rape culture is not explicitly taught in the modern-day campuses, it exists in all aspects of the students’ lives; thus it is everywhere and also propagated through mediums such as media (Roberts). Moreover, the article also highlights the hook-up culture which is widely embraced by modern campuses as another cause of the prevailing crisis of sexual violence on US campuses. Furthermore, the article also points that pornography is also a factor in sexual violence, the article states that “pornography, because of its emphasis on aggressive sexual acts, also deserves blame for the problem of sexual assault on campuses” (Roberts).
Causes of Sexual Assault in US Campuses
Therefore, the authors present some causes or rather contributing factors of sexual assault in US campuses which include alcohol and drug abuse, promotion of sexual aggressiveness in pornography, glorification of the hook-up culture in modern-day campuses, and promotion of the rape culture in Campuses. The article also presents historical data on changes in the campus life that can attribute to the increasing crisis of sexual violence in campuses an example is where the article states that “The massive 1970s shift to coed dorms and late-night opposite-sex visitors never had any justification and has been destructive to campus life” (Roberts). Moreover, according to the article, the rising cases of sexual violence is due to the loss of the Judeo-Christianity ideal that; sexual relations are to be reserved for marriage. Such ideals according to the article were thrown out during the 1960s resulting in the modern day hook-up culture which is considered as one of the primary factors of sexual violence on campuses.
Sociological Analysis
The article presents a sociological analysis; this is because it analyzes the various patterns of social relationships as well as social interactions and culture. Moreover, it also analyzes the social problem of sexual violence from different perspectives, and from what can be termed as concrete interpretations as well as a sweeping generalization of both the society and its behavior among other social patterns. Moreover, the article applies social research on sexual violence in US campuses such as the American Association of Universities survey which surveyed undergraduate student respondents in approximately 27 campuses (Roberts).
Reflection of Wright Mill’s Sociological Imagination
According to Mills, individual problems are in most instances rooted in greater problems stemming from various aspects of the society. C. Wrights also differentiates between personal and private problems. Concerning this, personal problems are those affecting individuals inclusive of other members of the society and are typically blamed on a person’s own moral as well as personal failings (Elwell). On the other hand, public problems are those that lie in the cultural and also the social structure of the society and affect a greater number of individuals in the society (Elwell). According to Wright most of the problems considered as private such as sexual violence or rather personal issues are to a great extent public issues.
The issue of campus sexual violence to a great extent reflects on C. Wright Mill’s “sociological imagination” because while sexual violence can be viewed as a personal problem owing to the victim’s personal and moral failings such as dressing provocatively and attending fraternity parties and participating in alcohol and drug abuse. Moreover, the issue can also be viewed as a result of the perpetrator’s personal and moral failings such as alcohol and drug abuse. However, although the issue of sexual violence in campuses can be viewed as a personal problem, this issue is best understood as a public issue given the prevalence of the sexual violence crisis in the US campuses which has affected a large number of students. According to the article, “American Association of Universities survey found that approximately 23.1% of female student respondents in 27 campuses experienced nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force” (Roberts).
Moreover, the problem of sexual violence in the US is also deeply rooted in its cultural and social structure. An example is whereby the author points out some of the causes of sexual violence in the US such as the hookup and rape cultures which have been prevalent in the modern campuses as well as in the modern society. Some of the components of rape culture that facilitate sexual violence include systematic sexism and objectification of women. Men who engage in sexual violence are merely behaving in the way in which the modern US culture has taught them as opposed to the idea that such men are deviant because they are to a great extent “normal” in the deviant culture.
Theoretical Paradigms
Judy Robert’s article on causes of sexual violence in today’s campuses primarily reflects on symbolic interactionist theory as the most influential theoretical paradigm in the author’s thinking. By the symbolic interactionist theory, human beings tend to act toward things or people according to the meaning given to these things or people (Blumer 2). Moreover, each individual’s interpretation of symbols is modified by his or her thoughts. Therefore, the symbolic interactionist theory asserts that human beings interact with things based primarily on the meanings ascribed to those things which, in turn, emerges from interactions between individuals within the society.
The symbolic interactionist theory influences the author's thinking as the author to a great extent analyses the rape culture as one of the primary causes of sexual violence. In the article, the author identifies objectification of women as one of the components of the “rape culture” that results in sexual violence mainly against women. According to the article, in the modern world, objectification of women is evident in song lyrics, billboards, movies as well as in men’s conversations held in locker rooms. As a result, objectification of women gives the message that it is quite okay for women to be treated in ways that most likely result in sexual violence (Roberts). Since women are viewed as objects and because objects cannot be asked for consent, sexual violence in campuses continues to prevail. Moreover, according to the article, the “sex week” which occurs on most US campuses is seen as a symbol as it glorifies the hookup culture which, in, turn, encourages campus to use each other.
Conclusion
In conclusion, one of the assumptions made by the article is the fact that all the social influences that promote sexual violence such as the rape and hookup cultures are somewhat similar in all campuses. Moreover, the article also assumes that the rape and hook-up cultures are present in the modern campuses. The article can be considered as more conflict-driven since it portrays the difference in power between men and women.
In the article, the conflict centers on men taking advantage of women which is propagated by some factors such as alcohol, whereby, men use alcohol as a weapon to take advantage of women. Moreover, the article also explores other factors that promote sexual violence which include, the rape culture which facilitates sexual violence particularly due to the objectification of women which renders them powerless. From a sociological perspective, the author fails to provide an analysis of all social interactions and events, especially between campus students such as fraternities that promote sexual violence. Further, the article lacks a detailed analysis of the role of race, class, and social status in campus sexual violence. Therefore, the article can be improved by incorporating the concepts of race, social status, and class to analyze sexual violence in the US campuses.
Works Cited
Blumer, H. “Symbolic Interactionism: Perspective and Method”. University of California Press (1986). Pp. 208. Print.
Elwell, Frank W. “C. Wright Mills on the Sociological Imagination,” (2013). Retrieved From: http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Essays/Mills3.htm. Online.
Roberts, J. “The Campus Sexual-Assault Crisis: Why Did It Happen?.” Retrieved From: http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/the-campus-sexual-assault-crisis-why-did-it-happen. Online.
