Rape cases in higher learning institutions - Research Paper Example

Francesco Angelini Georgina Philosophy Final Paper Draft Rape cases in higher learning s Introduction Rape is forcibly engaging ina sexual act with a person or persons against their will (Williamson, 2014). Sexual assault is a non-consensual touch which is considered sexual to the action recipient. It is also evident that not all rape cases are genuine; there are some cases where you may find a victim of false rape. False rape is reporting or attempting to report a rape to an alleged individual where it never happened. College rape is considered a real problem and in most instances not taken seriously in higher learning institutions. Statistics in 2011 done by the campus assault (CSA) have proven that 19 percent of women and 1.6 percent of men have been victims of rape since they joined college (Williamson, 2014). Most people believe there is a rape culture today on campuses and other higher learning institutions. This document focuses on a reflection and analysis of rape as a culture in campuses and other higher learning institutions. False rape cases It is projected that the number of false rape cases ranges between two to ten percent in most higher learning institutions in the U. S. Cases of false rape victimization are also rampant in higher learning institutions. This is where an alleged witness tends to present false rape allegations to the authorities. For instance, ‘The guardian’ magazine published on 1st of December the year 2014 highlighted a case where 109 women were sentenced to five years in jail in the UK for false rape witnessing allegations (The guardian, 2014). Professor Lisa Avalos, a specialty in such cases analysis presented her view in a section of the magazine depicting that such cases are rampant in US since they are treated as misdemeanor offences and victims are not jailed if found guilty unlike in Europe where the cases are felony with a jail term of at least five years. False rape victims tend to forge evidences to create intensity in the case, for instance the provision of bloodied clothes and disarrangement of a room to indicate struggle the act (Charen, 2014). This aspect affirms that the existence of false rape is a reality. Psychologists and counselors argue that false rape allegations signal different kind of problem in the perpetrators. These problems mostly are psychological and may require quick intervention. The alleged perpetrators are advised to attend counseling sessions before conviction if found guilty. The argument about false rape claims discusses various condition categories of false rape perpetrators which includes attention seeking persons, vengeance people, psychological distressed people as well as those driven by greed for power and or money (Charen, 2014). Some faulty victims may attempt to report a false rape out of curiosity. They may be interested in knowing what will happen to people around them. Distraction is another cause for one to present a false rape allegation. They may want to distract the police, family, or even friend from a particular occurrence (Charen, 2014). False rape cases in colleges and universities are mainly affiliated with attention seeking. A victim may falsely claim rape in order to seek attention from the individuals he or she is interested in. For instance, a woman may falsely accuse her boyfriend of rape in order to get his attention. For example, it is noticeable that women do lie of rape. “Jackies story has discrepancies does not necessarily mean she was maliciously lying; and it certainly does not mean that other women who report sexual assault were probably lying” (Jaschik, 2014, p. 3).Students also may report false rape to seek their parent’s attention. Parents may neglect their children while in colleges and universities. This may affect the child psychologically leading him or her to reporting false rape. Jaschik says, “It’s very common for victims of trauma not to know every single detail.”Revenge is also another cause that leads victims to report false rape. The victim may have come to bad terms with an individual. In order to revenge, he or she may report that the person has assaulted or raped them. They may intend to see the person suffer just like him or her or even more. In colleges and universities, students report false rape in order to revenge against a fellow classmate, lecturer, or any other person within the institution. The most common and rampant cause of false rape allegations is psychological distress. Students face psychological problems while in colleges and universities (Coronel, Coll, & Kravitz, 2015). Academic performance, isolation and family, drugs and alcohol may bring these psychological problems. When students are not performing in class as expected, they are bound to face psychological distresses. Drugs and alcoholic substances may lead one to report a false rape in a case where he or she was too drunk to realize who performed the act (Maxwell, 2014). It is medically proven that substance users tend to acquire memory lapse at advanced level of their addiction. This might lead to the giving of faulty reports and visuals. Greed for power and or money is another cause that can lead one to report a false rape. Students tend to compete amongst themselves in gambling games. In a situation where a student is, losing gambles to another provokes the other and may end up claiming that he or she was raped. Other students report false rape in order to acquire money or be the other person’s position. Some strict measures to prevent cases of false rape in colleges and universities need revision. Students are required to provide sufficient evidence when reporting rape cases. Provision of insufficient evidence may hinder the investigation and thus be considered a false rape case. Bloody clothes and tore clothes should be providing if available as evidence materials. Other stuff available, when the act occurred, should also be presented to aid in the investigation. Physical injuries need assessing for sufficiency of evidence. Students in colleges and universities should report rape cases immediately. Once a student fails to report, a rape or an assault then there is no case. Victims of rape should cooperate with investigators in order to find the perpetrators of the act (Williamson, 2014). Any failure to cooperate may make it difficult for investigators to align anyone in court or tribunal. These victims should give consistency statements to further the investigations. All this aspects can be achieved if an approach towards enhancing awareness of rape cases and the legal process towards dealing with these cases are known to students in most affected areas such as higher learning institutions. In this case, higher learning institutions ought to introduce a common unit in the curriculum that presents basic education on rape cases to students thus enhancing awareness. Rape as a culture Rape culture continues since victims, mostly of the female gender fail report their victimization to local authorities or medical experts (Coronel, Coll, & Kravitz, 2015). They tend to keep to themselves. The victims keep it to themselves to avoid stigmatization from their society, family, and friends. Stigmatization is a situation where the society brands a person names or act in profanity in regards to the situation or condition of an individual. Privatization of reporting these incidents is mostly by victims who come from families with cultures that have strong customs. The victims decide to isolate themselves due to the fear of the unknown. They may be afraid of being sanctioned or outcasts of their societies. These victims still experience mental stigmatization by keeping it to themselves and end up deteriorating in their studies and killing their social life as time passes by (Jaschik, 2014). Stigmatization is a major problem facing all victims of rape. Therefore, they tend to suffer alone rather than shaming their families or society. Psychological effects also affect the victims as keep choose to not to reveal the incedent. Most of them end up blaming themselves. Self-blame can be because of how the victim was dressed on the day of rape (Coronel, Coll, & Kravitz, 2015). Self-blame can be short or long term. Some of the rape victims feel they should have done something differently and, therefore, feel at fault for being raped. Some of them feel that something is wrong with them, and that must have led to the assault. Factors impacting continuity in rape culture Embarrassment also makes the victims go silent about the incidents. Some of the victims say it claims innocent victims, undermines social trust and distracts attention from studies and schoolwork (Jaschik, 2014). Rape culture continues since the victims keep quiet about it, and they do it to avoid embarrassment from their schoolmates and the society. Coronel, Coll, & Kravitz, 2015 say that victims of rape are so afraid that they never want to report. For example, one victim said, “Im not going to use his name in the article, but I have to do my due diligence anyway” because of fear (Coronel, Coll, & Kravitz, 2015, p. 33).Some students even tend to commit suicide after being a victim of rape. There has been a rape culture in college campuses since the time rape cases were reported, the school fraternity does not take the issue seriously. Moreover, the handling of rape cases in many learning institutions fosters a continuity of the rape culture. For instance, Maxwell says, “Rape culture is entrenched when survivors who come forward are victimized of substance abuse such as bhang smoking and alcohol drinking” (Maxwell, 2014, p. 2).The assailants are not punished profoundly or in a way that will serve as an example to other rapists. This has made the rape culture to deepen its roots in college campuses today. Racism has also made rape culture deepen its roots in colleges. A research done by the department of social affairs in California University indicates that black women are prone of falling victims of rape since they tend to be ignored by authorities after reporting the incident. Most of them are brand the name ‘sluts’ by fellow students upon reporting rape incidences in which they have fallen victim. Regardless of the race, the majorities of the victims know the assailants and are more likely to report that a stranger to cover for the real rapist who has perpetrated the assault. This aspect has contributed immensely to the continuity of rape culture in campus colleges today (Jaschik, 2014). Some rape cases happen between students in a relationship. This happens when the students in a relationship with a partner who is under the influence of drugs thus is prone to committing rape in his or her absent state of mind. Gang rape is the main form of rape in the campus colleges today. It is a form of rape perpetrated by multiple offenders at once. The bureau of justice statistics reports that only 5 percent of all rape cases involve more than one offender (Jaschik, 2014). Incidents of gang rape within fraternities in campus colleges commonly result from peer pressure and excessive alcohol use. Friends may discuss their rape encounters and those who have not done it choose to engage in the act to satisfy their curiosity. Most gang perpetrators tend to engage in rape activities in campuses to instill a sense of fear among fellow students. Gang rapes mostly occur during parties, and the offenders are under the influence of drugs especially alcohol (Maxwell, 2014). In many universities student have sex parties. Maxwell says, “Every freshman on campus is invited to the bacchanal” (Maxwell, 2014, p. 13). These parties thus promote and propagate sexual violence. Alcohol provides self-justifications for engaging in behaviors that are considered inappropriate. Peer norms in college campuses involve getting heavily drunk in order to act in an inhibited manner and engage in casual sex. This notion has made the rape culture continue gain ground in colleges, since alcohol causes impaired judgment and can lead to sexual assault (Maxwell, 2014). Conclusion Rape cases have become rampant in learning institutions in recent years. This is as a result of ignorance from public authorities and school administrations. As a result, it is important the create awareness in regard to the rape cases in learning institution. This is by introducing social education that will help students understand the causes and events that may result to rape cases as well as the outcome to these activities. This approach may reduce rape cases in learning institutions especially the higher learning institutions. References Charen, M. Who Really Created the ‘Rape Culture’? Retrieved from National Review: (201, May 94). Print. http://www.nationalreview.com/article/388502/rape-epidemic-fiction-kevin-d-williamson Coronel, S., Coll, S., & Kravitz, D. Rolling Stone and UVA: The Columbia. Retrieved from Rolling Stone. (2015, April 5). Print: http://www.rollingstone.com/culture/features/a-rape-on-campus-what-went-wrong-20150405 Jaschik, C. After Rolling Stone. Retrieved from Inside Highered: (2014, December 8). Print https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/12/08/campus-advocates-sexual-assault-issues-fear-impact-rolling-stone-article-boosted Maxwell, Z. Rape Culture Is Real: Simply put, feminists want equality for everyone and that begins with physical safety. Retrieved from Time: (2014, March 27). Print http://time.com/40110/rape-culture-is-real/ The guardian. 109 women prosecuted for false rape claims in five years, say campaigners. Published: 1.Dec.2014. Print. http://www.theguardian.com/law/2014/dec/01/109-women-prosecuted-false-rape-allegations Williamson, K. D. Sexual assaults today are a third of what they were twenty years ago. Retrieved from Natinal (2014, September 21). Print. Review: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/388502/rape-epidemic-fiction-kevin-d-williamson Read More