Sexual Violence on Campus: Determinants and Solutions

Despite the federal laws and regulations put in place, one out of every five women is affected by sexual violence at some point during their college careers. Likewise, one out of every 71 men is affected by sexual violence during their time at college. Every 73 seconds one person in the United States is raped and/or sexually assaulted, and on average, there have been 433,648 victims of this form of violence. Although all genders are affected, women obtain the highest statistics regarding sexual abuse.

From 2016 to 2018, the Rape and Victim Advocacy Program at the University of Iowa reported 129 cases of rape and 112 cases of sexual assault on campus, while there are 58 incidents reported off-campus. These issues of sexual violence have been substantially increased and are predominantly unreported. Cases of sexual violence are repeatedly going unreported due to reasons such as insecurity, guilt, victim-blaming/shaming, or the fear of still being in danger. This affects the outcome of the crime negatively because without reporting the incident, the person committing the crime is able to assault other people which only makes the problem more prevalent and complex.

Throughout the first couple of months of the first and second semesters upon arrival, both men and women are at the peak risk for sexual assault. This is mainly because students are put into a new environment where irresponsible actions are made. We’ve chosen to focus on the topic of sexual assault on a state and national level, and on college campuses across the state of Iowa, with a main and more in-depth focus on the University of Iowa. We hope to inform people in our community and nationwide about all aspects of sexual violence and how it can potentially be improved in order to create a safer environment for as well as people in our community and nationwide. Our group will touch on the individual, interpersonal, organizational, community, and nationwide levels of the ecological model in order to educate those on how each stage affects us.

Social Determinants of Health

Intrapersonal

Sexual violence on college campuses can be affected by the social determinants of health- intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy levels, which all identify environmental factors and influences that can affect behaviors. The Intrapersonal level focuses on the attitudes, knowledge, behavior, and beliefs of the individual. In the context of sexual violence, intrapersonal would be the beliefs of the perpetrator and why they believe or think what they are doing is okay. Sexual assault on college campuses is typically targeted at women, especially freshmen. Sexual violence is common on college campuses, around all sexual violence that occurs 30% happens on college campuses. Within the 30% of sexual assaults that occur on campus, mostly women are being assaulted, making women the largest group of people that are sexually assaulted. 25% of women admit they are sexually assaulted during their duration at college. Typically, women are not seen in power but instead, men are. Throughout history, women have been repeatedly repressed and still today this is shown through the number of women that are sexually assaulted by men. Men are the main perpetrators of sexual violence. They prey on women because they are thought to be powerless, vulnerable, insecure, and lacking self-confidence.

Interpersonal

Rather than focusing on one's beliefs and behaviors, the interpersonal level is based on the social networking and the social support systems of said person. On the interpersonal level, many people who were victims of sexual abuse early on in life have an increased chance of becoming an abuser themselves. Most victims are afraid to speak up, therefore they are left with all that baggage by themselves and little to no support. One-third of people that were sexually assaulted at a young age go on to grow up and become sexual assaulters. Recent research is also showing that being abused young results in many psychological problems such as multiple personality disorder and depression. After a sexual assault one can develop many mental health issues. Self-blaming is very popular among victims. Feelings of shame and guilt have been reported along with unhealthy ways of coping with the trauma. These can include addiction, self-harm, survivor's guilt, etc. These could be reasons people decide to keep the sexual assault to themselves, and have no support from the community. Their community is unable to help with such mental health issues when it goes untold or when it is unknown.

Community

The community level of the social-ecological framework model focuses on social norms that exist among groups/individuals, which can limit or enhance healthy behaviors. This relates back to the topic of sexual violence because it is almost like a normal thing to take advantage of someone and get away with it because the victim is scared to speak up. This is either because they think nobody will believe them or they are just scared. It creates this norm of not saying anything and just letting it go, which leads to more assaults. On the community level, many cases of sexual assault go unreported, not brought to the attention of the community. On college campuses, one of the biggest problems besides the high rates of sexual assault is the low rate of reports of the assaults. Out of the one in five women that are sexually violated, only one will report the assault. Without the report, the act of sexual violence is not reported leaving the perpetrator able to attack another victim. Out of 2071 male college students that were interviewed, 950 of them admitted to sexually assaulting fellow students more than ten times, especially after alcohol was involved. Just under 50% of the male students admitted to sexually violating another student, but most of the reports went unreported, not drawing the attention of the problem to the college or community.

Organization

Organizational factors include rules, regulations, and policies that can impact one's behavior, either positively or negatively. This can include stigma, tolerance, location, safety, etc. On college campuses, the risk of sexual assault can be increased. With new students being in a new environment, around new people the rates of sexual violence typically go up. The University of Iowa is a large state university located in Iowa City, Iowa. Within the past four years, there has been a steady increase in sexual violence. In 2013, there were 54 sexual assaults reported, In the following years there were increases in the last year reported with data on sexual violence is 2016 the sexual assaults that were reported were 123 doubling the rates of 2013. The 2016 reports show that 47 of the reports of sexual assault took place on campus while 52 were off-campus and the rest were unknown. Half of all sexual assaults happen while there is an element of alcohol that is involved, this statement reigns true, especially for sexual assaults that happen on college campuses.

Policy

Policy factors focus on local, state, and federal policies and laws that can impact health and well-being. The policies for sexual assault in the state of Iowa vary depending on the situation and circumstances. There is a first, second, or third-degree level of crime although all crimes of sexual assault are classified as a felony. The first-degree sentence in Iowa would result in life in prison, second degree is up to 25 years in prison, and third-degree is punishable by a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and a fine that can range from $1,000 to $10,000.7 Although there are laws put in place for sexual assault perpetrators only around. 7% of felons actually get convicted of the crime. Around 6% of people are arrested because of the crime, and. 6% are actually sentenced to any prison time. The actual sentence time and fine amount depending on the case and the state, but many sexual assault cases get less prison time than the law states and most sentences get reduced after the initial sentencing.

Solutions

Intrapersonal

Being abused is a hard obstacle for people to overcome, people don't like to talk about it, and some people even admitted to feeling ashamed. It is also very common for people to even develop some mental illnesses that stem from the trauma that they encountered. Many people feel as if they have no support, but when they feel supported by their family and community they are more likely to get help. Research done states counseling can improve mental health and can help people work through personal issues and traumas. Counseling is available in many different capacities such as in person, online, or on the phone. When victims feel the support they have an increased risk of getting help. The help they receive can help combat their mental illness in some capacity. Even if counseling is not an option talking to anyone trustworthy help. Talking about the assault can make people feel supported. The University of Iowa offers free counseling for enrolled students through their rape victim advocacy program or RVAP. The website is active and has the contact information of where the building is located and how to set up a counseling appointment.

Interpersonal

With increasing rates of sexual assault, many colleges are trying to come up with a way to keep students safe from sexual violence. Goshen College has implemented a solution. In spring 2015 they started bystander training. Today it is known as PIN, a program in place to select students to be trained bystanders. The trained bystanders are equipped to react in dangerous situations in order to help those in need. The program also allows students to further educate students being that the program is student lead. According to Goshen college nearly the entire student body has been trained as a bystander, ready to intervene correctly in uncomfortable situations that can escalate.

Community

One way to help resolve this problem and make people more aware is by having the community, school, etc. Affiliate with sexual assault organizations, making it a reality to everyone so it isn’t just swept to the side like it’s not important or didn’t happen. Victims need to be heard and people need to be made aware, or nobody is ever going to do anything to prevent it from happening. One organization that does a good job of this is RAINN. 

RAINN is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. Their website has a little bit of everything; statistics, survivor stories, the latest news, and a prevention navigator. A prevention navigator is a tool that schools and universities can use to find a sexual assault program that best fits their needs or situation. It allows users to explore the programs and see the databases of programs by key criteria and allows you to view student feedback and administrative insight. Here at the University of Iowa, there is a website through the Office of the Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator or OSMRC. The website, it has a place where sexual assault can be reported, where a problem can be reported, and it also has resources for victims. The University of Iowa is attempting to make the campus safer for all people who have to come on campus.

Organization

The University of Iowa has taken many steps to try and ensure safety throughout the campus. College campuses are now required to provide accommodations and protection against anyone who has been sexually assaulted. While the survivor has an option to report the assault to police and law enforcement they are assured by the campus saVE act that they will be protected against the person who violated them.13 The Rape Victim Advocacy Program is another program that is designed to help anyone who has been affected by sexual violence in many surrounding counties. The website and building have many online and in-person resources to help. On the website, they offer a lot of information about how to get help medically, mentally, and academically. Additionally, they have in-person services such as counseling and support groups. Through their services they do not charge for any services offered, under Iowa law they are not allowed to disclose information.8 The University of Iowa also has a website, the Office of Misconduct Response Coordinator, that offers resources such as a place to report a problem of sexual misconduct and harassment, stalking, and dating violence. It also provides information over policy information, how to help and get involved, and resources for people who have been sexually assaulted. Those resources include personal accommodations, help to find an attorney, investigations, and information on the rights they have. Around campus there are blue phone posts, they are there as a resource for anyone in trouble. The phone post sends an alert to the university police and will signal with a blue strobe light at the top. A dispatcher will also hear everything going on.7

Policy

On a state level, they have implemented laws stating what sexual assault is and the punishment if it is then carried out. In the state of Iowa, sexual harassment is defined as carrying out the act of sex without consent, through force, with the threat of violence, when the other person is incapacitated or unconscious, or under the age of consent. If a situation occurred where the law was broken it would be cause for action. The punishment would be sexual assault in the first, second, or third degree depending on the situation and the circumstances.

Summary

Unfortunately, sexual violence and rape are a big problem in the U.S., especially among college campuses and more suburban areas crowded with people. The purpose of this paper is to make sure the topic of sexual violence and rape is given a voice and to list possible solutions that could help eventually resolve this problem. The rising rate of sexual assault is most closely related to lack of knowledge, social support, silence or lack of speaking up, and sexism (in terms of women being powerless). All of these factors relating back to the Social-Ecological Model combine to create this problem of sexual violence, which is continually getting worse and becoming a larger issue. However, the solutions listed in the previous paragraphs are focusing on: making people more aware of this problem, holding perpetrators accountable, and providing support to those who have been sexually assaulted.

Sexual assault has always been an ongoing problem, but again, is continuing to get worse and more overlooked. These solutions have a direct relation to the intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy levels. They all intertwine and relate to each other, making them that much more important. All of these should be taken into account in order to effectively reduce the climbing rates of sexual assault.

Public Health Implications

Safety is a big concern, especially on college campuses, so when looking at it from a public health perspective, it is important to take all of these solutions into consideration. If this problem isn’t solved, rates will continue to rise and people will be living in fear because they are most likely going to feel like they have little to no support from the community and everyone around them. Aside from that, from a policy standpoint, if nobody is held accountable for their actions and the crimes they commit, the problem is never going to get better. Perpetrators are going to think it is okay because they can get away with it, which then in turn, pushes them to do it again and again.

Author Contributions

When our group was first put into groups, we all agreed on what topic we were going to research. We also put Destiny in charge of meeting times and places. We jointly conducted research before constructing our paper. From there, we designated each part of the paper to a certain person. We assigned Kali to the introduction, Bailey, and Amy to the body, and Destiny to the conclusion. Following through on the said commitments, Kali did the introduction, Bailey wrote the body and Destiny helped with the solutions and concluded the paper. Overall, Destiny, Kali, and Bailey each helped with the references and doing our in-text citations.

References

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7. 7. Office of the Sexual Misconduct Response Coordinator. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2019, from https://osmrc.uiowa.edu/.
8. 8. Rvapiowa. (n.d.). Counseling & Therapy. Retrieved December 10, 2019, from https://rvap.uiowa.edu/help/counseling/.
9. 9. Staff, F. E. (2017, March 31). Therapy and Counseling. Retrieved December 12, 2019, from https://familydoctor.org/therapy-and-counseling/.
10. 10. Students offer bystander intervention trainings for campus and beyond: Goshen College. (2018, July 19). Retrieved December 9, 2019, from https://www.goshen.edu/news/2017/11/20/students-offer-bystander-intervention-trainings-campus-beyond/.
11. 11. Survivors Shouldn't Have to Wait. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org.
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