The Scope of Rape Victimization and Perpetration Among National Samples of College Students Across 30 years

Research Questions: Rape prevention practice and policy have roots in data from 1985. This study uses 2015 national data to project recent prevalence, assesses whether rates now differ from those of 30 years ago, and disaggregates 2015 prevalence into rape of alcohol incapacitated victims, rapes combining both alcohol and physical tactics, and violent rape. Methods: Cross-sectional analyses were conducted comparing two national samples. The first was collected in 1984-85 (Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987); the second was collected 30 years later in 2014-2015. Both surveys used in-person administration and measurement by the most current version at the time of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES). Prevalence rates were compared using Bayesian binomial tests. Results: In 2015, 33.4% (1 in 3) of women reported experiencing rape or attempted rape and 12.7% of men reported perpetration (1 in 8). Using Jeffreys' label for effect size of the Bayes binomial (1961), both results are “decisively” greater than expected given the 1985 benchmarks of 27.9% for victimization and 7.7% for perpetration. Victimization when incapacitated characterized approximately 75% of incidents in 2015 up from 50% in 1985. Cautions apply as cross-sectional data does not establish causality and the recent data set involved the revised SES. Conclusions: Across 30 years, neither containment nor reduction of rape was demonstrated and the increasingly prominent association with alcohol was apparent. Among the men who disclosed raping, 9 of 10 incidents were alcohol-involved. Prevention focus might profitably be directed to constraining alcohol environments and policies that facilitate rape of incapacitated persons and on misconduct responses that are proportional to the harm caused to rape victims, thereby raising the perceived risks of perpetration.

A Comprehensive Review of Embracing the Normality of Rape Culture: Time to Put a Stop to Victim Blaming

Gender discrimination against women is a prevalent issue in Bangladesh, but sometimes it is concealed. Rape cases, also known as ―sexual abuse‖ in many cultures, are a special insidious type of sexual harassment. In other contexts, when you are familiarizing with the lifestyle of women, as a social worker it is likely to see victims of sexual abuse due to a large number of abusive offenders. Global WHO figures suggest that about 1 in 3 (35%) of women around the world endure physical and sexually intimate relationships or non-partner sexual abuse during their lives. Domestic abuse is the most heinous form of violence. Approximately one third (30%) of all women who have a relationship comment on physical and sexual harassment witnessed by their intimate partner nationwide. This review investigates several peer-reviewed journals and articles that have been developed for the comprehensive understanding of domestic abuse as rape. Still, this issue of rape must be addressed within and outside the scope of domestic violence. More experiments are conducted with a focus for future studies. The major argument of this review is that while raped women are suffering from the permanent effects of psychological and emotional damage, the issue of rape is not the problem of women. It is squarely a man’s problem. As a society, victim allegation is preached as a flame, but the issue is with ancestors and older generations’ minds and opinions. On a conclusive note, strategies for rape prevention have been discussed. It is crucial to recognize and increasingly teach young children about the effects of sexual harassment and how traditions can be changed to avoid social stigma. Keywords: rape victims, sexual assault, social work, victim-blaming, prevention

Statutory Rape: Case Characteristics When Offenders are Younger Than 21 Years of Age Versus Older

Statutory rape laws are intended to protect adolescents from harm as a result of sexual activity with older individuals. In this pursuit, many, but far from all, states’ statutory rape laws differentiate younger and older offenders. In effect, many of these states differentiate offenders who are 21 and older from those who are under 21. It is unknown, however, whether and how the dynamics of statutory rape vary depending on the age of the offender. To explore the contribution of offender age to the dynamics of statutory rape, data were collected from the records of 105 statutory rape cases referred to a child abuse assessment center over a 63-month period. Records included detailed reports on case history and victims’ family history, mental health and health-risking behaviors, medical examination results, and forensic interview summaries. Cases of offenders 1 1. Because these cases are under investigation, “offenders” here refers to “suspects.” For ease of reading, we use “offenders” to be consistent with prior research terminology. under 21 were compared to the cases of offenders 21 years and older. Compared to cases of younger offenders, cases of offenders 21 years and older more often involved slightly older adolescent victims. Independent of age, victims with offenders 21 and over compared with offenders under 21 were over six times as likely to have a prior history of a high, versus low, number of psychosocial problems and were seven times more likely to experience multiple forms of coercion versus no coercion by the offender. Findings suggest that statutory rape prevention, policy and response strategies should consider the critical ways that case characteristics and victims differ according to this key offender attribute.

Bystanders in “sketchy” sexual situations: Their constructions of the “girl,” the “guy,” and themselves

In this paper we explore through discourse analysis the written personal narratives (vignettes) of “sketchy” sexual situations that students found themselves in as bystanders. We asked for these vignettes in a larger study examining the relationships between moral judgment/reasoning and intervening or not in situations of potential sexual assault. Through a Foulcauldian Discourse Analysis (FDA), we explore in these narratives discursive constructions, positioning of potential victims, potential perpetrators, and bystanders of sexual assault, as well as the action orientations these discourses suggest, and the implications for rape prevention programs.

Does the Stigma of Hooking Up Predict Sexual Assault at College?

This study examines the relationship between the stigma of hooking up and reported sexual assault. Guided by Goffman’s (1963) social stigma theory and Gagnon and Simon’s (1973) sexual script theory, I propose that 1) the more strongly the respondent agrees he or she would disrespect women who hook up frequently, the fewer times he or she reports nonconsensual sex; 2) the more strongly the respondent agrees he or she would disrespect for men who hook up frequently, the fewer times he or she reports nonconsensual sex; and 3) the more strongly the respondent agrees he or she would be less interested in someone who hooks up frequently as a boyfriend/girlfriend, the fewer times he or she reports nonconsensual sex. Using the Online College Social Life Survey data collected between 2005 and 2011, I analyze the attitudes about and reports of sexual behaviors in a non-probability sample of 16,914 students at 21 U.S. colleges and universities. Controlling for sex, age, current religion preference, and Greek affiliation, disrespect towards women who hook up frequently is positively and significantly related to fewer reports of nonconsensual sex. However, the results do not support the second and third hypotheses as there is no statistically significant relationship between disrespect towards men who hook up frequently as well as the lack of interest in people who hook up frequently and the incidents of reported nonconsensual sex. The findings suggest that the efforts to reduce the stigma of hooking up should be taken into consideration in rape prevention programming.