Male Blog Exercise, Essay Example

For anyone who has been paying attention, it is clear that the issue of sexual assault on (and near) college campuses has been receiving an extraordinary amount of attention in recent years. It seems unlikely that this media coverage is somehow indicative of a statistical rise in sexual assaults, but instead simply reflects changing attitudes (some good, some bad) about how rape and assaults are discussed in the public sphere. (Does anyone recall how, a few years ago, the media seemed obsessed with reporting every shark attack on swimmers and surfers, creating the impression that there was a sudden surge in such incidents? As it turned out, there were no more than an average number of shark attacks that year). Of course sexual assaults and shark attacks are entirely different issues, and I do not mean to minimize the former by mentioning the latter. I simply want to point out the need to avoid being swept up in hysteria, and to discuss the quite-serious issue of sexual assaults on college campuses in a serious manner. With the recent news that the U.S. Justice Department has released a list of 55 colleges and universities that are currently under investigation for their handling of cases involving sexual assaults, it seems appropriate to take the issue seriously, even if the sense of a “rape epidemic” might be overblown by the media.

A quick glance at media coverage on sexual assault among college students reveals that there are two main themes receiving the most attention. The first is the specific issue of sexual assault: how and why it happens, and how it can be lessened (if not eliminated). The second is the issue of what happens or often doesn’t happen- in the aftermath of sexual assaults (or accusations of sexual assaults). Unfortunately, most discussions about either of these two main themes are woefully inadequate, often missing (or purposefully avoiding) important facts and points of view. And despite what is missing from stories about either sexual assaults or the aftermath of such assaults, almost all of these stories share a common theme: women are victims, and men are perpetrators. Such an approach does a disservice to genuine victims of sexual assault, and has the added effect of causing real and lasting harm to males who are unfairly accused of sexual assault.

There is no question that sexual assault on college campuses must be taken seriously, and there are far too many stories about women who report being assaulted only to find that school administrators and even the police completely mishandle their cases. A recent New York Times piece tells the story of “Anna,” a student at Hobart and William Smith Colleges in New York, who reported an assault to officials at her school. Without recounting the details here (they can easily be found on the NYT website), there seems to be compelling evidence that Anna was raped by several male students, and there is no question that the school completely botched their investigation. It is impossible to read Anna’s story without feeling a sense of anger, and even disgust, about the way the school mishandled the case at every step. And Anna is not alone; a quick web search turns up story after story about alleged victims of sexual assault who reported their attacks only to have school officials and law enforcement fail to mete out even the barest hint of due process and justice.

For every story about someone like Anna, however, there are stories where the facts are far less cut and dry. All across the country, young men are having their lives turned upside down by accusations of sexual assault despite a complete lack of evidence that they committed any crimes.  In 2012, a male student at University of Georgia named Kristopher Stevens was expelled from school after a female student accused him of rape. Stevens was not charged with any crime by law enforcement and publicly-available evidence (such as a series of text messages exchanged between the accuser and the accused in the hours after she left his dorm room) seem to show that the sexual encounter was consensual. Despite the apparent lack of evidence against him, the mere accusation was enough to upend Steven’s life. In early 2014 a student at Duke University –home of the infamous falsely-accused members of the Lacrosse team- sued the University after he was expelled over sexual assault charges he claims were unfounded. Like the UGA student, the young man at Duke was not charged with a crime, and there is significant evidence showing that he engaged in consensual sex with a young woman who later accused him of rape.

Stories like those of Anna and those of the male students at UGA and Duke demonstrate what a minefield today’s college students have to navigate where sex is concerned. On one hand the “hook up culture” encourages males and females alike to engage in casual sex; on the other hand, genuine victims of sexual assault and innocent young men accused of sexual assault often find themselves at the mercy of school administrations and law enforcement agencies that seem ill-equipped to handle their responsibilities to treat victims and perpetrators justly and fairly. The larger lesson to be learned from these stories is that consent is a two-way street. It is not just needed to protect women (or men) from sexual assault; it is also needed to protect men (or women) from being accused of sexual assault. In an environment where all women are seen as potential victims, and all men as potential victimizers, we have a responsibility to protect ourselves against the possibility of being falsely accused. This means making sure that consent is mutual and granted willingly by both parties in any sexual encounter. If men work to create an environment where consent is valued, that will be a step towards creating an environment where stories like Anna’s or Kristopher’s will become the exceptions, rather than the rules.