Imagine you are walking to your dorm after class, and you feel the presence of someone's eyes on you following your every move. You begin to walk faster, but he catches up to you. With no hesitation, starts to grab you, and you try to say stop, but he won’t listen. You are so shocked and terrified about what might happen that you go completely still. He drags you to a dark alley and forces himself on you. Rape is defined as, when unlawful sexual activity occurs such as intercourse carried out forcibly or under threat or injury to a person or with a person who cannot or is incapable of valid consent (rape 1). This article “The Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus” has reported, “Sexual assault is a far too common problem in our country today; RAINN (the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) recently reported that someone in the U.S. is sexually assaulted every 98 seconds” (Writers 1). People’s view on this social epidemic must change, and they need to know that reporting a rape should not be scary or complicated, it also should not change what your friends think about you in any way. The world needs to know that no means no and stop means stop.
History
While rape has been going on for decades it has never been a prominent issue; although, rape on college campuses has been steadily increasing (Zimmerman 1). One of the first studies of campus sexual assault was published in February of 1957 when the reporter noticed a peak in sexual assaults on college campuses (1). In this article, the sociologist Eugene Kanin writes about how men use “secrecy and stigma to pressure and exploit women” and he has evidence to prove it (Kamenetz 1). Then about two decades later Susan Brownmiller created the term “date rape” which means that “an aggressor may press his advantage to the point where pleasantness quickly turns to unpleasantness and more than the woman bargained for” (Zimmerman 1). This term “date rape” was brought up again about a decade after it was created in 1985 in a study by Ms. Magazine and Mary R. Koss (1). Koss was a psychology professor at Kent State University in Ohio and conducted the largest study of rape on college campuses, “...survey more than 6,100 undergraduate women and men for one of the largest scientific studies of date rape at that time” (1). The survey results were astonishing, “The survey reveals that one in four female college students had an experience that met the legal definition of rape or attempted rape” (1). This study then became the basis for a book written by Robin Warshaw called “I Never Called It Rape”, published in 1994 by HarperPerennial (1). This book helped the victims of sexual assault or rape to share their stories and connect with other victims.
The first growth in rape was after the civil war (Campus Rape: A Brief History of Sexual Violence Activism in the U.S. 1). White slave owners would rape the women they “owned” to gain control and to make more slaves (1). Not long after that during the Memphis riot a white mob committed gang rape on at least five black women (1). These women testified about what had happened to them, but the men were not punished (1). This led the women to form “Black Women’s Club” and their work helped future activist groups fight against other forms of violence (1). The second rise in rapes led to the Civil Rights Movement (1). Rosa Parks was a leading anti-rape activist before she refused to sit at the back of the bus (1). In 1944, she helped form the Committee for Equal Justice and she helped launch the Civil Rights Movement (1). Fifty years after the Committee for Equal Justice was formed, the Violence Against Women Act was passed in 1994 (1). This was the first law that made law enforcement treat gender violence as a crime and not a matter to be dealt with at home (1). The law was reauthorized in 2013 to include Native American, gay, lesbian, and transgender survivors (1). The first anti-rape efforts on college campuses also started during this time (1). The first-time college campus rape received media attention was in 1985 when Ms. Magazine published “Date Rape: A Campus Epidemic” (1). This epidemic still occurs and has now moved to social media where networked activism is much easier and more awareness can be raised for the victims of on campus rape and rape victims.
Social Effects
Rape has an enormous effect on society worldwide, but rape on college campuses has had a rather large effect on society. The assailants have been getting away with rape at colleges for centuries, and only a small amount get punished (Rubenfeld 1). So, what’s to stop them from continuing to rape if they never get in trouble for it? These perpetrators will just continue to rape helpless women, because of the likeliness that the victim will not report it (1). The government mandated that American colleges follow a ramped-up sexual assault adjudication process even though colleges do not have the appropriate training or knowledge to bring perpetrators to justice legally (1). This could cause society’s opinion of on campus rape to change. If the process of convicting a rapist and the conviction rates don’t change, then who’s to say that more people won’t begin raping due to the small chance that they will get punished? Rape happens so often but no one seems to think it is an epidemic that needs to be stopped; society needs to open their eyes to the severity of this epidemic and do something to help change the way rape cases are dealt with by the police.
Examples
A student at Yale University accused another student of raping her on Halloween 2015 (Wang, Vivian, and Cheryl P. Weinstock 1). The student being accused was named Saifullah Khan age twenty-five (1). The complainant was never named, but she says that she went to an off-campus party and had a few drinks (1). She says it was the first time she had ever been drunk and that she was just hanging out with her friends having fun (1). After the party she and her friends decided to go to a performance by the student orchestra, and she was so intoxicated that she lost sight of her friends (1). Instead she found herself with Mr. Khan who had been pursuing her by staying with her when she was throwing up and walking her to her room afterward (1). The victim only remembered snippets of what happened that night and this made the jury skeptical of her story and whether it was true or not (1). The defensive pounded the victim with questions that insinuated that she was an uncredible witness (1). They also insinuated that it wasn’t possible for her to not remember pieces of the attack but still remember others “They asked repeatedly how much she had to drink, and how she could claim not to remember certain details, such as how she arrived back at her dorm room, but remembered others, such as the alleged assault itself” (1).
The defense tried to say that she was flirting with the defendant over text messages and that her Halloween costume was not modest enough “They parsed her text messages with Mr. Khan, asking if she had not been flirting with him in the days before the incident. They showed off her Halloween costume, a black cat outfit, and asked her why she had not chosen a more modest one...” (Wang, Vivian, and Cheryl P. Weinstock 1). The defense was basically blaming the attack on the victim because she was flirting and because she wore a slightly sexy outfit (1). This line of questioning was “all victims’ worst fears in coming forward” and therefore most victims of sexual assault or rape don’t come forward especially victims that are in college and just starting their life (1). They don’t want their life to be ruined by a trial that will most likely end up with no justice served. Mr. Khan was given the verdict of “not guilty” and was reinstated to Yale University (1). This trial is a prime example of why rape on college campuses is an epidemic, the perpetrators know that because the school holds trials that they are most likely to be found not guilty.
Solutions
To this day there are no real solutions to stop rape on college campuses but, there are some ways to help prevent and reduce the number of rapes. One solution that could help immensely would be to require colleges to have better sexual harassment policies and more experienced people on campus that can help the victims of sexual assault. These policies would state how to differentiate between what qualifies as sexual assault and what doesn’t (Solutions for Sexual Assault... 1). They would also contain guidelines on how to deal with sexual assault and what to do immediately after being assaulted (1). One of these policies would be Title IX which is supposed to protect people from being excluded from participation in, being denied the benefits of, or being subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance because of the persons sex (“Title IX and Sex Discrimination.” 1). Some schools already have this policy in place, but it would benefit all schools to implement this policy. This policy would ensure that the school will help protect the students who have been assaulted and it will make them obligated to do something about it. Policies like Title IX are needed to help prevent sexual assault and rape on college campuses.
Another solution to sexual assault and rape on college campuses would be this program called “Yes Means Yes” which is based on the idea that it is not okay to have any sexual contact with someone unless they explicitly say yes (Geggel 1). An assistant professor of sociology at Auburn University in Alabama believes that young children should be taught consent when they are still in elementary school (1). If children are taught about consent at a young age, then it would “create this culture where you only engage with people in ways, they consent to” (1). There are also other programs that “encourage college men to think about their responsibilities” (1). A program like this has already been put into place in California, “a program at the University of California, Riverside, tells men not only to not harass or assault other students, but also to stop these situations from developing, such as by standing up to anyone planning to commit an assault” (1). These programs will undoubtedly help to prevent sexual assault and rape on college campuses, but they may not be the best solutions.
While those other solutions may work there is one that has shown effective results that was put in place in Canada (Geggel 1). This program reportedly dropped the number of sexual assaults and rapes on college campuses by fifty percent (1). This program had, “400 women who participated in lectures, discussions and review classes on rape prevention and another 400 women who were given brochures on preventing sexual assault” (1). One year after these women participated in this program it was reported that, “about 10 percent of the women in the brochure group reported that they had been raped, whereas about 5 percent of the women who participated in the rape avoidance program reported being raped” (1). This showed tremendous results and should be put in place by every college around the world, not just in one school in Canada.
Camus and Absurdity
Albert Camus was an atheist and he believed that, “life had no meaning, that nothing exists that could ever be a source of meaning, and hence there is something deeply absurd about the human quest to find meaning” (“Camus and Absurdity” 1). He also believed that there was only one real philosophical problem and that was suicide (1). When a person feels like there is no meaning in life they might be lead to suicide, which is usually caused by depression stemming from a life changing event happening in that person's life. Victims of assault and rape may also begin to question what the meaning of life is, which will then lead them to take their own lives if they don’t deal with their feelings and address them.
If Camus were to see what rape on college campuses was like today, he would not be fazed by it. He does not believe in rationalism which means that he doesn’t believe that your actions must be based on reason and knowledge (Aronson 1). Which means that he doesn’t think that someone needs to have a reason to rape or sexually assault another person. Camus believes that it is absurd to have to suffer for no reason at all other than the fact that another person wanted something that you did not (“Camus and Absurdity” 1). This means that he would feel like the victims of rape or sexual assault should be given peace in mind that the people committing these heinous acts will be brought to justice.
Conclusion
Rape on college campuses has steadily increased over the years and that needs to stop. Rape in and of itself is an epidemic but rape on college campuses is a much more prominent epidemic that needs to be dealt with, and the world needs to stop viewing it as if it was the victims' fault. People need to know that reporting a rape should not be scary or complicated, it also should not change what your friends think about you in any way. The world needs to know that no means no and stop means stop. We need to take a stand and stop this wretched epidemic before it gets any worse.
Works Cited
Aronson, Ronald. “Albert Camus.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 27 Oct. 2011, plato.stanford.edu/entries/camus/. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
“Campus Rape: A Brief History of Sexual Violence Activism in the U.S.” Dr. Caroline, 12 Aug. 2014, drcarolineheldman.com/2014/08/08/campus-rape-a-brief-history-of-sexual-violence-activism-in-the-u-s/.
“Camus and Absurdity.” Philosophy Talk, www.philosophytalk.org/blog/camus-and-absurdity. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
Geggel, Laura. “The Science of Preventing Sexual Assaults on College Campuses.” LiveScience, Purch, 5 July 2016, www.livescience.com/55274-how-to-prevent-rape-on-college-campuses.html. Accessed 10 Apr. 2017.
Kamenetz, Anya. “The History of Campus Sexual Assault.” NPR, NPR, 30 Nov. 2014, www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/11/30/366348383/the-history-of-campus-sexual-assault.
Rubenfeld, Jed. “Mishandling Rape.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Nov. 2014, www.nytimes.com/2014/11/16/opinion/sunday/mishandling-rape.html.
“Solutions for Sexual Assault on College Campus.” Women Vote PA, 23 Oct. 2013, womenvotepa.org/2013/10/02/solutions-sexual-assault-on-college-campus/. Accessed 10 Apr. 2017.
“Title IX and Sex Discrimination.” Home, US Department of Education (ED), 25 Sept. 2018, www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/tix_dis.html.
Wang, Vivian, and Cheryl P. Weinstock. “Yale Student Found Not Guilty in Rape Trial.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Mar. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/03/07/nyregion/yale-student-not-guilty-saifullah-khan.html.
Writers, Staff. “Realities of Sexual Assault on Campus.” BestColleges.com, BestColleges.com, 15 May 2018, www.bestcolleges.com/resources/preventing-sexual-assault/.
Zimmerman, Eilene. “Campus Sexual Assault: A Timeline of Major Events.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 22 June 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/education/campus-sexual-assault-a-timeline-of-major-events.html.
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