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Race, Class, Gender and Crime Community Syllabus

Sexual Assault - Class Definition

In the case of sexual assault generally, rape results in about 32,000 pregnancies each year. It is estimated that 4 out of 5 rape victims suffer from chronic physical/psychological conditions. 40% of rape survivors develop STDs as a result of their sexual assault. Over 1/3 of women who are raped as minors (under the age of consent in each state) are also raped as adults. Partly because of this, 42% of women who are raped expect to be raped again and rape survivors are 13 times more likely to attempt suicide than are people who have not been victims of crime. In the case of sexual assault on college campuses, 1 in 5 women (20%) will be sexually assault on campus compared to 4% of college men. Most college victims are assaulted by someone they know or have had a previous relationship with. 42% of college women who are raped do not disclose their assault to the police or college administrators. Campus perpetrators are often serial offenders (DoSomething,org, n.d.). In the case of sexual assault in the military, in 2018 there were 20,500 reported cases of service members being sexually assaulted or raped, and 13,000 of those victims were women. The army admitted that soldiers are more likely to be raped by someone of their own uniform than to be shot by the enemy. 76% of survivors did not report their crime in 2018 and over 25% of those victims reported fearing retaliation. 73% of retaliation reports alleged that retaliators were in the victim's chain of command. Many victims reported being assaulted by someone in their command and more than 25% of survivors of sexual assault decided to leave the military (Time’s Up, 2021). In the case of men's role regarding rape and sexual assault, while men are often the perpetrators of this crime, as of 1998, 2.78 million men in the U.S have been victims of attempted or completed rape, meaning than 1 out of every 10 rape victims are male. This can be connected to another student’s final project on masculinity and violence. Society teaches men to be strong and masculine, therefore men often think that they need to be tough and one of the ways that 6 they express their toughness is through violence whether that be against another person or in athletics. There is also a belief in society that women are subordinate to men and that while men are the protectors, women are supposed to be the ones that are gentler and who stay at home and perform domestic house duties. Because of this popular belief, some men believe that they are entitled to some things such as sexual acts or favors and when a woman declines their advances, they believe that it is their right as a man to force that woman into sexual intercourse. This is a very important concept when considering a race, class, gender, and crime class because it can explain why there is an increasing amount of violence against women in society (RAINN, 2021). These concepts are important and relate to a class in which main concepts are race, class, gender, and crime because we in America live in an environment where rape is prevalent in all facets of a person's life and can affect all genders, races, classes, and is considered an indescribable heinous act. It's important to understand the concepts regarding sexual assault not only for prevention methods, but also acknowledging that behind rape, there is a control and power aspect as well as a masculinity and gender norms which perpetuate this. There are also so many different concepts related to sexual assault that belong in a race, class, gender, and crime class that it would be hard to not talk about sexual assault. Concepts like masculinity, the criminal justice system response, victim advocacy, violence against women, and mental health are all huge concepts that often need to be talked about when talking about sexual assault.

Suggested Readings

  • Breitenbecher, K.H. (2000). Sexual assault on college campuses: Is an ounce of prevention enough? Applied and Preventive Psychology, 9(1), 23-52.
  • Comack, E., & Peter, T. (2005). How the criminal justice system responds to sexual assault survivors: The slippage between “responsibilization” and “blaming the victim”. Canadian Journal of Women and the Law, 17(2), 283-309.
  • Davies, M. (2002). Male sexual assault victims: A selective review of the literature and implications for support services. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 7(3), 203-214.
  • DeMatteo, D., Galloway, M., Arnold, S., & Patel, U. (2015). Sexual assault on college campuses: A 50 state survey of criminal sexual assault statutes and their relevance to campus sexual assault. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 21(3), 227-238
  • Martin, P.Y., DiNitto, D., Maxwell, S., & Norton, D.B. (1985). Controversies surrounding the rape kit exam in the 1980s: Issues and alternatives. Crime & Delinquency, 31(2), 223-246.
  • Quinlan, A. (2020). Visions of public safety, justice, and healing: The making of the rape kit backlog in the United States. Social & Legal Studies, 29(2), 225-245.
  • Sadler, A.G., Booth, B.M., Cook, B.L., & Doebbeling, B.N. (2003). Factors associated with women’s risk of rape in the military environment. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 43(3), 262- 273.
  • Turchik, J.A., & Wilson, S.M. (2010). Sexual assault in the US military: A review of the literature and recommendations for the future. Aggression and Violent Behavior, 15(4), 267-277.
  • Waterhouse-Watson, D. (2013). Athletes, Sexual Assault, and Trials by Media: Narrative Immunity. Routledge.

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Discussion Questions

  1. In what way might the process of compiling evidence for a rape kit re-traumatize a victim?
  2. Why are crimes that involve violence against women often discredited (for example, when rape is viewed as a “he said-she said” matter)?
  3. Why do you think athletes who commit crimes of violence against women are so strongly defended by their fans, some of whom are women?
  4. In what ways do you think society can help to shift shame from the victim to the perpetrator? What type of measures do you think it would take for rapists to change their views and behavior toward women?
  5. Do you think legal language sufficiently clarifies what consent is and is not? Do you think affirmative verbal consent should be required prior to engaging in sexual activity? Why or why not?
  6. Do you believe that rape should be considered a human rights violation? Explain.