Sexual Assault on College Campuses as an Echo of Rape Culture

Sexual assault has become a pressing and concerning issue on college campuses across the United States. In recent years, the rise in reports and discussions surrounding incidents of sexual violence has brought this critical problem to the forefront of national attention. The prevalence of sexual assault at American colleges has sparked profound discussions. In this essay, we will explore the rise of the sexual assault issue at American college campuses and examine the case of Brocj Turner as well as possible factors wich cause the rise of rape culture.

Brock Turner's Case Analysis: an Example of Sexual Assault at College Campuses

In January of 2015, a 22 year-old woman who was a recent college graduate attended a fraternity party at Stanford University. She attended the party with her younger sister, who was an undergraduate student at Stanford. Later in the night, two international graduate students on bicycles found the 22 year old woman, unconscious, being raped behind a dumpster by Brock Turner, who was a student at Stanford at the time of the attack. When Turner noticed the bikers, he tried to escape by running away. The bikers chased down, tackled, and held down Turner long enough for the police to arrive and detain him. On the site of the sexual assault, the woman remained unresponsive and did not regain consciousness until later when she was in the hospital.

Many people have heard about the Brock Turner case due to the fact that it caught national headlines and sparked controversy, but this was definitely not an isolated event. All around the world, sexual violence continues to be a major issue. In America, there is a continuing conversation about sexual violence - especially on college campuses. Unfortunately, rape and sexual assault are far too common in the United States and are even more likely to happen on a college campus. To understand how extensive of a problem this is, consider the following statistics: “Every two minutes in the United States, someone is raped, and the chances of being that victim are four times greater for a college female student than for any other age group”. A number of elements of society and culture on college campuses in America made the events of the evening in January of 2015 possible. This case of sexual violence is a popular example of rape culture. “Rape culture” is a sociological term that exist in societies where “rape and other forms of sexual violence are common and pervasive, when they are normalized and viewed as inevitable, and when they are trivialized by authority figures, the media and cultural products, and by the majority of members of the society'. Rape culture can exist throughout the wider society society, but it is notably extensive on college campuses. Many factors work together to create and perpetuate rape culture. However, for the purpose of this case study analysis, I am going to mainly focus on how the liveliness of rape culture can be attributed to the light legal treatment of cases of sexual violence and the role of alcohol, masculinity, and rape myths on college campuses.

Explanation and Consequences of Brock Turner's Case

There are a few possible explanations that can lead one to understand the legal treatment of the case. Justice was somewhat reached in Turner’s case, as he did serve some prison time and he faces consequences that will follow him for the rest of his life. It did, in fact, catch the attention of the world and his name and face have reached many headlines. However, many would argue that not enough justice was served. After the events on the January 2015 evening, Turner’s charges included multiple felonies including rape of an intoxicated and unconscious woman. Originally, he was meant to serve multiple years behind bars. In the end, Turner was only convicted of three of these counts of sexual assault, received a six month jail sentence, and was ordered three years of probation. After serving three months of his sentence in jail, he was released and was required to register as a lifelong sex offender.

For all of the physical and psychological pain he caused his victim, many would consider his punishment extremely lenient. Even though a countless number of perpetrators have gotten away with similar light sentences, Turner’s punishment (or lack thereof) is one aspect that brought so much attention to the case. Turner’s background along with common treatments of rape cases can help one understand how it was possible for him to get off so easily. According to Oliver, “There are very few consequences for the perpetrators of sexual assault, especially if they are well-respected fraternity brothers or college athletes.” It can be argued that his status as an athlete at a prestigious university gave him privilege in his defense. Because of his previous accomplishments as a swimmer and that he didn’t necessarily “look like a rapist”, the idea that Turner had a “bright future” was used as an argument in his favor.

Turner’s crimes have implications for his future and the future of his victim. One significant contributor to rape culture is the fact that judges often worry more about the future of “high-status” perpetrators such as Turner than the future of the victim. Oliver asserts, “Popular sentiment too often has been that men are the ones harmed by rape charges, that they have the most to lose, which assumes, of course, that their futures matter more than those of their victim’s.” In a letter that he read aloud in court, Turner’s father claimed, “His life will never be the one that he dreamed about and worked so hard to achieve. That is a steep price to pay for 20 minutes of action out of his 20 plus years of life”. The comparison of the violent crime to merely “20 minutes of action” greatly minimizes the seriousness of the situation and almost completely disregards the victim. Regarding his light sentencing, the judge in Turner’s case reasoned “that he believed more time spent in jail would have a ‘severe impact’ on the life and future of Turner, who once has Olympic aspirations”. This rhetoric is problematic because it functions as a wider claim that as long as men do not have a criminal background and have previous accomplishments, they can easily get away with sexual assault.

Alcohol as a Cultivator of Rape Culture 

Party culture and alcohol can be linked to the prevalence of rape and sexual assault on college campuses. While defending himself in court, Turner displaced the blame of his crimes by arguing that it was caused by “the alcohol and party culture on today’s college campuses”. Alcohol did have a role in the events, as “both parties were intoxicated at the time of the assault — with the woman’s blood alcohol concentration three times the legal limit and Turner’s two times the limit”. Much like other elements of this case, Turner’s attempt to excuse his actions because of alcohol does not exist in isolation; there have been many instances in which the use of alcohol has been a central aspect to cases of sexual violence. Scully notes that “in societies like ours that display belief in and behavior associated with disinhibition [caused by alcohol], men can use drunkenness as an excuse for sexually violent behavior to disclaim deviance.” Turner took advantage of this view in his case because he used intoxication as a justification for his harmful actions. Due to alcohol’s effects on memory, it can be used to blame victims for what happens to them. While alcohol is advantageous to perpetrators of sexual assault because it makes them “less responsible for their behavior, it is used to discredit the victims and to make them more responsible for the acts”. These advantages for perpetrators and disadvantages for victims contribute to rape culture because not only do they encourage victim-blaming, they also decrease the likeliness of victims reporting assault.

In addition to using alcohol consumption as a means of justification for sexually violent actions, masculinity and the wider societal views of what it means to “be a man” also perpetuate rape culture. Cultural cues including messages from media, movies, and other outlets impose the idea that masculinity can (and should) be earned through having sex with women. This view is arguably even more prevalent on college campuses. Research shows that “college athletics and fraternity culture perpetuate a classic double standard whereby men who have sex, even force sex, are ‘studs,’ whereas women who have sex are sluts”. From personal experience at my university in America, I have undoubtedly witnessed this double standard and I argue that it exists just as extensively outside of athletics and fraternities. There have been countless instances where I have been around males get praised for how many girls they have slept with. At the same time, I know girls who have gotten shamed by others for having sex with the same amount of people. This double standard has become so normalized - notably within college contexts - that until very recent reflection, I failed to consider the fact that this is a double standard. I realize this is just from my personal perspective and that it may not hold true to everyone. However, I find it difficult to argue against the proposal that these cultural ideas of masculinity exist widely because of how extensively they are ingrained into society.

Within rape culture exist a set of widely-held ideas that perpetuate rape culture, otherwise known as “rape myths.” Rape myths can be defined as “prejudicial, stereotyped, or false beliefs about rape, rape survivors, or rapists”. A few examples of rape myths are that rape only happens between strangers, alcohol causes rape, women who dress promiscuously are asking to be raped, and “no” really means “yes”. These beliefs may be held by many, but this does not mean they are objectively true. In addition to sexual assault and rape being more likely on college campuses than other places, rape myths are also bred “at a higher rate than other cultural institutions” and “the acceptance of rape myths is higher on college campuses than it is in the general population”. These facts work together to make college campuses a dangerous place for women.

Conclusion

Rape culture is something that needs to be taken seriously. It is something that exists within the wider society, but as mentioned previously, it exists more extensively on college campuses. Rape culture cannot be blamed on a single individual person and is rather understood as a dynamic interplay of things like party culture and the role of alcohol, societal views of masculinity, and the light punishments for perpetrators of sexual violence. It is important to note that there are aspects apart from the ones mentioned in this case study that foster rape culture. However, Brock Turner’s case functions as an example of a few significant elements that foster rape culture and exemplifies a number of reasons how and why rape culture is continually perpetuated. Unpacking how these sociological aspects work together to contribute to rape culture can lead one to understand the implications for future victims and perpetrators of sexual assault.  

References

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