One in five women in college is sexually assaulted.
Sexual assault on college campuses is not merely a problem, it is an epidemic.
The Hunting Ground is a documentary illustrating the sexual assault epidemic on college campuses and the failure of institutions to deal with it.
Many people think that sexual assault involves someone jumping out from behind bushes and attacking you, this is not the case. Sexual assault most commonly occurs among acquaintances and even people closest to you.
Survivor Annie Clark from UNC, was told by the Dean of Students that "...rape is like a football game," and was asked if she could replay it, what she would do differently. Comparing rape to a football game is comical and unacceptable.
Among rapists, there is a sense of entitlement. Rapists think they are entitled to whatever they want.
Your body is your body, and no one else's. You decide what you do with your body and who you share it with. In The Hunting Ground, college authorities responded to victims by questioning whether the victim said no, what they were wearing, if they had been drinking, and then told the victim not to judge the rapist because they didn't know what that other person was going through. The word rape often makes people uncomfortable; it's a scary word that people don't like to talk about. People may ask, "Why didn't you say no? Why didn't you fight them off?" People don't understand how fast it happens, how your body freezes up and your inability to comprehend what's happening.
Colleges and universities are over concerned with false reporting which is ridiculous due to the small number of false rapes reported compared to actual rape cases. Colleges and universities feel that it is more important to cover up their rape cases to keep their statistics of sexual assault low, in order to attract prospective students.
Imagine having to walk around your campus, attend classes, where your rapist is present. You have to re-live the experience over and over again. Meanwhile, academic honor code violations are taken much more seriously and have definite repercussions.
Something that infuriates me is that universities conceal accusations of sexual assault for athletes; especially division one athletics. I'm not saying that all college athletes are rapists. And I'm not saying all frat boys are rapists. That couldn't be farther from the truth. I'm saying that colleges and universities prefer to take care of the perpetrators, looking out for them, especially if they are athletes because of the universities financial pursuits.
In one case of a rape perpetrated by a Notre Dame football player, campus police were not allowed to contact athletes, nor could they contact athletic employees. The perpetrator said to the victim who eventually committed suicide that, "...messing with Notre Dame football is a bad idea." It's utterly ridiculous to me that Notre Dame said they "couldn't find" this football player, yet he played two home football games in a stadium that holds 160,000 people. Out of 160,00 people, no one knew where he was? Repeated offenders are at the core of this problem. Campuses often know about repeated offenders and don't care. Statistically, repeated offenders commit six or more acts of sexual assault. In The Hunting Ground, two women examined Title IX. Title IX outlines everyone's right to an equal education. Therefore, colleges and universities are violating Title IX by contributing to a hostile environment in the form of not expelling rapists. Colleges and universities nationwide contend that they take the issue of sexual assault "very seriously." Are they really? Some fraternities are encouraged to be sexually aggressive with girls. SAE's fraternity has a reputation for "sexual assault expected." Fraternity pledges at one university reportedly shouted outside the dorms of freshman girls, "No means yes, yes means anal!"
What happens for a few seconds or minutes is something a victim lives with for the rest of their life. It haunts them. Soldiers come back from war with PTSD, as do survivors of sexual assault. As a result of college and universities failure to deal with sexual assault cases, there has been an increase in depression, anxiety, panic attacks, self-harm and even suicide among rape victims.
It makes me think of our current political election. Are people out of their minds for supporting a candidate who brags about "grabbing women by the pussy?" That just doesn't represent anything America stands for.
The sexual assault epidemic responses from colleges and universities is pathetic, comical, disgusting, demoralizing, ignorant, and appalling. Colleges and universities should be ashamed of themselves. While trying to protect their perfect images for potential students by covering up these rape cases, the adverse effect is happening because the effect of the lack of them taking care of this issue is the biggest turn-off. We must support sexual assault victims. These victims are DAUGHTERS, MOTHERS, SISTERS, FRIENDS AND GIRLFRIENDS. Everyone should be required to watch The Hunting Ground.
Sexual assault has come to be a part of the college experience. We should not expect sexual assault. Rape victims in The Hunting Ground say their rape was bad,but the way they were treated by their school was worse.
