Rape on College Campuses

Rape has been a dilemma for years—especially in colleges around the country. One major reason for this is the propagation of rape culture, or the normalization of sexual violence within a society. Despite our modern times, rape culture continues to be a prevalent issue across campuses. We educate females on how to protect themselves from rape rather than teach them to proactively educate others not to rape and not to be a bystander when they witness a sexual assault take place. And rape culture also impacts men. Though less common, males do face sexual harassment and rape on college campuses, and this isn’t acceptable, either.

One of the interesting aspects of rape culture is that is normalizes victim-blaming, which is when the survivor is treated (and in many cases, made to believe) that the rape was somehow their fault. The survivor is subjected to a series of leading questions and comments that place the blame on them , as if they somehow behaved in a way or wore or said something that invited the rape or assault to happen. And these accusations often lead to severe psychological trauma—isolation and withdrawal, major depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, major anxiety—to name a few. And not to mention the physical consequences, which can include pregnancy, contracting sexually transmitted infections, self-harm, and even suicide.

Perpetrators of sexual harassment, rape, and assault usually don’t face consequences for their actions, and if they do, their punishments are almost always lax. Survivors have to walk around the campus knowing that their attacker is still around, or soon to be released. This creates a hostile environment for the survivor to be in, because nowhere feels safe. Many victims don’t report when they have been sexually assaulted or raped for fear of repercussions, embarrassment, being blamed, or that others won’t believe them. These fears are symptoms of rape culture. Encouraging students to report when they have been assaulted, in any way, is an important step to stopping rape culture and helps create a safer campus. To put an end to rape culture would create an environment where victim-blaming is discouraged, which is a key step toward stopping sexual assaults on campuses.

The bystander effect is another major contributor to rape culture. To stop sexual violence and assault, we must understand what causes sexual violence in the first place—to understand the root of the problem—and then we must intervene when it occurs. Some of the most common causes of sexual assault are peer pressure and substance use. College rapes tend to involve drug and alcohol use in which the victim, or the rapist, or both are under the influence. Educating college students that, while someone is under the influence, a person’s judgment is impaired, and they are unable to give consent. While impaired the person usually doesn’t know what is going on, so consent cannot be obtained. The other cause is peer pressure in which people feel pressured to participate in activities that they do not feel ready for but have seen it in media as examples of what they “should” be doing. This peer pressure from society as well as peers is another aspect of Rape Culture, where the activities have been normalized that “all people are doing this” so they feel outcast if they do not participate. This is increased on college campuses where everyone has seen the college movies and copy what it in them. Encouraging students to speak out against those who are pressuring their mates to do something, the mate has shown hesitance in doing. This intervention is usually seen as being a “buzzkill” or “party-pooper” by those peers pressuring. Being this person will help stop a mate from doing something wrong that would eventually lead to unwanted consequences. These peers upset by the “party pooper” is more examples of rape culture, these bystanders are mock and pushed out for stepping up to help those unable to help themselves. This is behavior that we need to change.

Rape culture in our society perpetuates instances of sexual assault and rape. This can then lead to physical and emotional trauma and psychological disorders that survivors struggle with for years. These consequences degrade many aspects of a survivor’s life—their physical and psychological wellbeing, their relationships, and their future. To live in shame or guilt or fear in their own campus dorm or apartment, a place which should feel like a safe haven, is terribly inadequate and unjust. As a society, we must work harder to intervene and educate and bring awareness to all communities if we hope to put a stop to rape culture and create an environment of safety and support.