Victimization on College Campuses, Research Paper Example

Abstract

College can be a time when women become victims of crime as they are attacked, raped, stalked, and harassed. Although an awareness of such crimes against them is widespread, efforts to curb the tide have largely been unsuccessful. Most college campuses support educational efforts and crisis centers in hopes that their male and female students might become more aware of the problem and know how to seek personal assistance or referral when they, or those they know, are victimized.  Recent research has attempted to uncover the causes of these crimes against women. Further, researchers seek to assist students, at personal and institutional levels, to foster actions that might lead to the reduction and eradication of this problem in higher education.

Victimization on College Campuses

College should be a time of fulfillment and excitement as students learn skills that will shape their professional lives for the balance of their lives. Sadly, it is not a happy time for many college women who fall victim to crime. Women on college campuses are at a greater risk than are women in the general population, and /or women in a comparable age group outside of college. Numerous women are too embarrassed to report such instances of violence. Many do not even consider it to be a crime. Others blame themselves for what happens to them (rape).

The abuse of alcohol had long been related to this type of crime. One in two college students will consume alcohol in a high risk manner at some point during their college years. To combat this, some schools are scheduling more Friday classes in hopes that it will discourage students from partying to excess on Thursday evenings. Drinking is literally overrated. Most students overestimate the number of classmates who drink and the amounts they drink; therefore, many of them drink to excess just because everyone else is doing it.

Other issues confound young women on their way to adulthood during the traditional age of 18-22. One is drug use. One in two college students have used marijuana during the last 12 months. Like alcohol abuse, drug use impairs judgment and causes people to do things that they ordinarily would not do. Another issue is stalking. College women also report instances of stalking in alarming numbers. Stalking occurs when a person will not leave another person alone and follows them everywhere they go and calls them and texts them without invitation.

Alcohol and drugs prove to be a sinister combination for those who get into personal situations that leave them defenseless against those who would take advantage of them and their lack of sobriety. In one research report it was found that “the main predictor of violent victimization was a lifestyle that included high levels of partying on campus at night and the recreational use of drugs” (Fisher, Sloan, Cullen, & Chunmeng, 2005, p. 671).

The pattern between alcohol use and victimization is complex, based on one longitudinal study (Carmody et al., 2007). “The results indicated an increase in risk for sexual revictimization with increases in alcohol use for women with a history of sexual victimization. The data did not, however, support a reciprocal relationship between sexual assault and drinking.”

Many of the men in the study reported that alcohol use contributed to their sexual aggression. Most hold rape-supported attitudes. This contributes to pro-rape cultures.

College officials are aware of the problem. Most campuses seek to educate their learning communities about sexual assault victimization. Most campuses have sexual assault crisis centers. Unfortunately, this knowledge has done little to curb the tide of violence against women. Since the 1970s, when the Women’s Movement began to address the issue, it has been studied. It has received attention in the form of workshops and conferences, but to little avail.

“176 in 1000 women are victims of attempted or competed rape in a lifetime” (Carmody, et al. , 2009, p. 202).

There is a stigma that is associated with sexual assault. Society’s response to rape often places the victim under increased trauma as efforts are made to prosecute the crime perpetrated against them. This causes many victims to remain silent. Their silence does nothing to stop their harassers from repeating their offences.

Campus workers in campus assault centers have identified four areas that need to be improved: better service for international students, increased funding, increased awareness, and statewide coordination of services. International students, who are already overwhelmed with learning a new culture and often, a new language, are even more reticent to make reports when they are victimized sexually. More money is needed to make the problem known through advertizing campaigns. Young women are often naïve and need much more information about this problem as part of their college orientation processes. Statewide, efforts to consolidate and streamline assault center services would help to increase the number of people who are trained to staff such centers on campuses.

If you have been victimized in the past, your chances of being victimized in the future are greatly increased. Women who report or survive rape during adolescence are 14 times more likely to experience the same thing during their first year in college.

The victimization of women on colleges and universities throughout the United States is real. It will not go away as long as people fail to use good reasoning to think through the consequences of their actions. It will not go away until those who rape, stalk, harass, and attack are brought to justice and until colleges have stiffer penalties for those who defy on-campus rules.

References

Cara, J., VanDeusen, K. (2004). Risk factors for male aggression on college campuses. Journal of Family Violence, 19(5), 279-289.

Carmody, D., Ekhorn, J., & Payne, B. (2009). Needs of sexual assault advocates in campus-based sexual assault centers. College Student Journal, 43(2).

Carmody, D., Ekhorn, J., & Payne, B. (2007). Reciprocal relationships among alcohol use, risk perception, and sexual victimization: A prospective analysis. Journal of American College Health, 56(1), 5-14.

Fisher, B., Sloan, J., Cullen, F., & Chunmeng, L. (2005). Crime in the ivory tower:

The level and sources of student victimization. Criminology, 36(3), 671-760