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Cultural Aspects

Historical Aspects

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Poor attitudes towards sexual assault and women originate way back in history to the 12th and 13th centuries. However, in 1800s it began to be brought to societies attention. During this time government officials felt young girls were capable to fight back against a seducer just like an adult women would be and the legal age of consent was 10 years old.

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During the civil rights era in the 1950s and 1960s women realized there was need for social reform and change. During this time women realized that society was unaware that sexual assault was a real issue and that supports were needed for survivors. Although sexual assault awareness and prevention on college campuses is still a progressing topic there has been several historical events that led to the advocacy that women have today:

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  • !960s- Anti-Rape Movements 

  • 1993- Violence Against Women's Act- legislators were recognizing sexual violence prevention was needed 

  • 2000- National Sexual Violence Resource Center and Resource Sharing Project were put together to create more awareness and prevention efforts  

  • 2001- April was named Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and became nationally recognized 

  • 2006- Me Too Movement began to help survivors through their journey 

  • 2013- Violence Against Women's Reauthorization Act 

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Bishop, K. (2018), National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2018)

Family Structure/Parenting Styles:

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Hostile parenting styles that are physically aggressive demonstrate to children that violent and manipulative behaviors are normal in the within an intimate relationship. 

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  • Feelings of rejection from a father or parent can increase a woman's chance of being sexually assaulted 

  • Insecure attachment as a child can be linked to skewed sexual behaviors and attitudes as an adult 

  • Harsh parenting and interparental hostility are associated with increased victimization for women

 

 Sutton, T. E. & Simons, L. G. (2015)

Religious Beliefs:

 

What a woman believes in can influence their outlook on their life after the sexual assault and their coping process .  

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  • 57% of college students are certain they believe in a god

  • 47% feel religion is important in their life during college

  • 31% of college freshman report no religious beliefs at all 

  • Religious beliefs can play a key role in a survivors' recovery 

  • Religion can be a determining factor in how an individual responds to life stressors

  • Positive religious coping was related to more positive outcomes after women were sexually assaulted

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Ahrens, C. E., Abeling, C. Ahmad, S., & Hinman, J. (2010), Downey, A. (2017), Pew Research Center. (2019)

College/Party Culture

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Partying and drinking alcohol is a dominant form of socialization among college students and college campuses. In fact, many colleges are often categorized as "party" schools. 

 

  • There is often a pressure to fit in which may increase the likelihood of drinking alcohol and partying while in college 

  • Many parties involve unintentional or intentional heavy use of alcohol which can lead to high levels of intoxication and inability to make sound judgements

  • Drinking large amounts of alcohol causes diminished and distorted cognitive states â€‹â€‹

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Lindo, J., Siminski, P. & Swensen, I. D. (2018)

Rape Culture

 

An environment where sexual assault is prevalent, normalized, and excused in the media and in popular culture.

 

Examples of rape culture include: 

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  • Use of misogynist language, objectification of women’s bodies, glamorization of sexual violence 

  • Disregards women’s rights and safety 

  • Environment where a woman lives in fear of rape and limits their behaviors due to this fear 

  • Victim blaming 

  • Jokes that are sexually explicit 

  • Men are dominant and sexually aggressive where women are submissive and sexually passive 

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Marshall University. (2019)

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Greek Life Culture

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Sorority membership is a risk factor for sexual assault while fraternity houses often have been referred to as dangerous places for women and these men are three times as likely to commit rape. 

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  • Greek life membership can be seen as being dominant in social scene 

  • Gender inequity in Greek life: sororities are prohibited from hosting mixed gender parties with alcohol that are common place in fraternities 

  • Expectation that sororities must pair and socialize with fraternities 

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End Rape on Campus. (n.d.), Jozkowski, K. N. & Wiersma-Mosley, J. D. (2017)

College Sports Culture

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Many colleges hold high value in their athletes and sports teams, especially if it is a team that brings the college high amounts of revenue.

  

  • Schools provide athletes with top notch legal teams that the victim cannot afford â€‹

  • Tradition of impunity 

  • Value placed on aggression 

  • Coaches and school officials protect athletes more than regular students 

  • Often athletes accused of sexual assault have been shielded by coaches and victims have been ignored 

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PACT5: Preventing Sexual Assault on College Campuses. (2013)

Mental Health and Sexual Assault

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After a women has been sexually assaulted there are a variety of emotional difficulties she may face after impacting her mental health and well-being while in college. 

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  • An individual may experience anxiety, humiliation, depression, stress, suicidal ideation, and trouble concentrating 

  • Can result in a multitude of behavioral problems such as drug use, eating disorders, heavy drinking, physical fights, lowered academic achievement, and dropping out of school 

  • Many survivors experience flashbacks from their assault 

  • May experience shame, isolation, shock, 

  • Having family members, friends, and professionals react negatively to the sexual assault can heighten mental health symptoms

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Mental Health America. (2019)

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