Sophanny (Sexual Assault)

Sexual Assault

What is Sexual Assault?

Sexual assault refers to sexual contact sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the victim.

·      Attempted rape

·      Fondling or unwanted sexual touching

·      Forcing a victim to perform sexual acts, such as oral sex or penetrating the perpetrator’s body

·      Penetration of the victim’s body, also known as rape

Sexual Assault in the United States

According to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC), one in five women and one in 71 men will be raped at some point in their lives. In the U.S., one in three women and one in six men experienced some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime. 91% of victims of rape and sexual assault are female, and nine percent are male.

Campus Sexual Assault

Sexual assault on college campuses is a common problem that often goes unreported

Sexual assault is common among female students of all ages, races, and ethnicities. 

·     One in five women in college experiences sexual assault.

·     Nearly two-thirds of college student experience sexual harassment.

·     Among college campuses more than 90% of sexual assault victims do not report what happened

    Common factors that play a role in sexual assault are:

• Drugs 
•  Alcohol 
•  Peer pressure

Affirmative consent

According to the CAL State LA Rights and Options for Victims of Sexual Misconduct booklet, affirmative consent means an informed, affirmative, conscious, voluntary, and mutual agreement to engage in sexual activity. Lack of protest or resistance does not mean affirmative consent, nor does silence. Affirmative consent must be:

                                                      -Voluntary

-Without coercion, force, threats, and intimidation.

Affirmative consent can be withdrawn or revoked. Consent to one form of sexual activity does not mean consent to other sexual acts. Consent cannot be given if a person is intoxicated/incapacitated. 

There must always be mutual and affirmative consent to engage in sexual activity.

Why is this issue important?

This social issue is important to me because it’s such a broad issue that needs more attention. I believe that people need to be educated on what the meaning of sexual assault is and to understand the importance of consent. This is relevant to the various members of the community because it affects men, women, children, and transgender people. People who have been sexually assaulted tend to keep it to themselves and when they do tell someone they don’t want anyone else to know. They feel ashamed or people tend to blame the victim. It is important that people talk about these issues so that sexual assault can be made more aware to everyone in their community.

Summer Nang

"As a woman, I feel that sexual assault is a huge problem. It needs to be addressed and people need to get educated on the meaning of consent. There needs to be more action taken against those who commit these acts of violence."-Summer





       

Nikki Chan

  "Sexual assault is a tough subject to   discuss but it needs more attention especially among women."-Nikki

Anthony Vung

" I strongly believe that sexual assault happens a lot among people of the LGBT community. This issue is important to talk about because we need to hold those accountable for sexual assault."-Anthony

References:

“Get Statistics.” National Sexual Violence Resource Center, www.nsvrc.org/statistics.

“Sexual Assault on College Campuses Is Common.” Womenshealth.gov, 13 Sept. 2018, www.womenshealth.gov

Sexual Assault | RAINN, www.rainn.org/articles/sexual-assault.