Category: Sexual Assaults

Introduction

Sexual harassment is a hazardous issue found in workplaces all over India which has become the main factor in reducing the quality of working life and job turnover. By looking at the present scenario where gender-based violence such as sexual harassment in the workplace is spreading at a thrust all around India. Women in the public sector are more prone to this violence because of the nature of their jobs which involves interaction with their colleagues. Women are brutally harassed by the torturous suppression of not only men but also by the whole society this not only lowers their performance rates but also affects their mental health. Sexual assault of women is becoming one of the most common crimes in India which not only infringes the fundamental rights of women but sometimes in the form of eve teasing, rapes, and sexual harassment at the workplace it leads to suicides and job turnover.

According to International Labour Organization, sexual harassment in the workplace is a barrier to its goal of achieving decent working conditions for all workers. Over the last few years, there has been awareness globally about the existence and extent of sexual harassment of women in the workplace. This occurrence of sexual harassment in the workplace in India is actually infringing the fundamental rights of a woman under Article 19(1) (g) of the Constitution of India. The main issue of sexual harassment at the workplace in India came into major limelight in the Bharati Devi case of 1992, this incident unfolded the traumatic condition of women, with which one has to pass even after being subjected to a heinous crime of rape. The poor functioning of the state machinery was exposed and resulted in the issuance of Vishaka v. State of Rajasthan, in a landmark judgment by Justice J.S Verma of the Supreme Court. Several statutes on the prevention of sexual harassment were passed such as Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act,2013) (Act No. 14 of 2013), and the main objective of these statutes was that no women shall be subjected to sexual harassment at workplace in India. This paper sets the scene for this issue by examining its nature and the ways in which measures were taken to stop this by the government and Human Rights also. It also discusses the year 2013 going down as a landmark year in Indian history for women’s rights protection.

The survey report given by the Centre for Transforming India of 2010 found that 80 percent of the working women in metropolitan cities have been subjected to workplace sexual harassment.

According to the crime report of India by the Home Secretary there has been found a great fall in the crime ratio of 2011 against sexual harassment at the workplace and also a decrease in the average of last five-year analysis.

The Supreme Court defined sexual harassment in the workplace as unwelcome sexual behavior whether directly or indirectly. After the Vishaka case, it passed 12 guidelines that have to be followed by employers.

The Sexual Harassment Act prefers every employer to set up an ICC at every organization and orders the Government to set up a LCC in every district in India for investigating complaints regarding sexual harassment.

There were four basic approaches discussed by Bunch (1990) for women’s rights which included civil, socioeconomic, political, and legal as well as feminist transformation rights which help women in preserving their human rights.

In April 2013 IPC was amended to include a new section for sexual harassment i.e., Section 354A which talks about the punishment to be given for this crime, and many more sections under IPC are also involved in dealing with this issue.

Justice J.S Verma’s committee provided some of the major recommendations on the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill, 2012 when it was pending in the Parliament for passing.

The experts of the ILO Committee on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, in the general observation on the Application of the Discrimination Convention(1958 No.111) in 2003, presented views on Sexual Harassment and mentioned it as a form of sex discrimination and the need to be addressed with the requirements of the Convention.

The incarnation of Sexual Harassment

Under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act,2013 sexual harassment is defined as “unwelcome sexual gesture or behavior whether directly or indirectly, sexually colored remarks, physical contact, and advances, showing pornography, a demand or request for sexual favors, any other physical verbal/non-verbal conduct being sexual in nature and passing offensive and unacceptable remarks.” The Vishaka guidelines categorically state that it is the duty of the employer or other responsible person in the workplace to: prevent sexual harassment and provide mechanisms for the resolution of Sexual harassment, which is categorized under two heads i.e., quid pro quo sexual harassment which occurs when advances involves threats, bribery or any other conditions of employment and the other type is hostile environment sexual harassment it occurs when harassment affects the person ability to perform his or her job or sometimes when it creates an intimidating, inimical or offensive working environment.

Consequences of Harassment on working women

This affects mostly the:-

• Female
• Young girls (14-20 years)
• Widow
• Divorcee

Anatomy

Under the sexual harassment of Women at workplace act, 2013 as this law provides a civil remedy that if the harassment is of criminal nature, the complaint is to be filed with the police:

Under section 354A of IPC, imprisonment for one year which may extend to five years, and with the fine,

under section 509 of IPC if the person utters any word or does any such gesture or act with the intention to insult the modesty of a woman the punishment given is simple imprisonment for three years and with a fine and

Section 294 deals with obscene acts and songs in public places:

In the compendium given by the National Crime Reports Bureau of Home Affairs, the crime rate for sexual harassment is 0.7 with the incidence happening 8,570. Andhra Pradesh has reported 42.7%(3,658 cases) followed by Maharashtra 12.5%(1,071 cases) of total incidences during the year 2011. Andhra Pradesh has reported the highest crime rate (4.3) as compared to the National average of 0.7. The incidents of crime against women was decreasing from 2009 to 2011 it was 11,009 in 2009, 9,961 in 2010, and 8,570 in 2011.

Justice J.S. Verma committee report summary

Before the passing of the bill in the Parliament of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Bill, 2012 this report gave some major recommendations which were:-

The complainant and the respondent need to first take an attempt at appeasement. Domestic workers should be there in the purview of the bill. Employers should pay compensation to the women who have been harassed. The employer needs to maintain ICC in which the complaints must be filled.

Guidelines on the sexual harassment

The Supreme Court in the Vishaka & others v. State of Rajasthan & others, the case gave 12 guidelines to be followed by the establishments in dealing with the complaints regarding to sexual harassment. As per the guidelines given in this case, the employer is responsible for preventing sexual harassment and as well as taking action on complaints. Following the gang rape case of social worker Bhanwari Devi as she tried to prevent a mass child marriage from taking place in Rajasthan, in this case, the apex court said “Sexual harassment in the workplace was a violation of the Fundamental Rights to equality, life, and practice of a profession of one’s choice.

The Sexual Harassment Act 2013 lays down that women shall not be subjected to sexual harassment in any workplace. The Protection of Women against Sexual Harassment at Workplace Bill (2010) was the first attempt to create legislation to control this crime. It provides complaint and redressal mechanisms in the form of Local Complaints Committees (LCC) in every sub-district and district. The inquiry of the committees gets completed within 90 days and the district officer has to carry out the recommendations made by it within 60 days. If it is violated the bill proposes a fine of Rs.50, 000. The figure1.3 given below shows the procedure to be followed under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

This procedure given below in Figure 3 shows the hierarchal system for the complaints to be done under this act if there is any incidence the complaint goes under the Internal Complaints Committee or Local Complaints Committee and at the end employer is required to act on the decision given by the committee under 60 days and if the respondent is unsatisfied with the decision of the committee he can appeal against it within 90 days of the date of recommendation.

Issues from the Lens of Human Rights

Bunch in 1990 talked about four major approaches for linking women’s rights to human rights. Those were such the rights of women as civil and political rights which talk about general human rights and civil liberty violations, the other socio-economic rights which look at the need to end the economic subordination of women in society to reduce violence and last was the feminist transformation of human rights which focused on making new laws to decrease sex discrimination and to raise the responsibility of the state for decreasing the violation of women’s human rights.

Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) major illustration of this approach, which mainly focuses on maintaining gender balance in public and political life and considers it as a violation of human rights. It is an important human rights treaty for women. India being a federal country it’s the responsibility of both the central and the state governments to look at the status of women and the violation of human rights. The main focus of the Planning Commission is on the development of women in every sector. This issue of sexual harassment of women in the workplace was not a big issue at the international level but International Labour Organization (ILO) considered this as a form of sex discrimination. McCann (2005) added this in the ILO Convention 1958 as discrimination under many grounds including sex.

Conclusion

In today’s modern society where women have started taking up leadership roles which might be a challenge to the men who are in a habit of being in the patriarchal society and hence try to dominate them through harassing them.

It is important to know that there are laws passed to stop the sexual harassment of women in the workplace and employers have to frame new and effective strategies to protect the organization from this social evil. There should be greater public awareness and participation in governance. The most important part is that the government and the other employees should not make any gender discrimination in the workplace. The law also binds the employees to address and act on the complaints as soon as possible in respect of sexual harassment of women in the workplace.

There are three types of intervention that organizations are recommended to follow to reduce and stop sexual harassment of women in the workplace i.e., providing training to the employers and following effective policies, providing a complaint procedure to the applicant, and providing counselors to the persons who have been harassed and to those persons also who have the mentality of being a harasser. Thus sexual harassment can only come to an end with the help of the men of modern society as well as with the help of the government.

All Colleges across the country try to fight the increasing stat of sexual assaults happening. It is rather a shame that everyday women and teenage girls are always in danger of being sexually harassed. As men, it is our duty to educate each other on how we can prevent the increasing number of sexual assaults in colleges.

It is important to know when a guy is given permission to have a sexual entanglement with a woman and when he is not. Educating boys at an early age about learning to respect other people’s bodies as much as they would want their bodies to be respected too. Unfortunately, you can teach someone as best as you can, only for them to learn habits that weren’t taught to them. As picked up from the Washington Post, For, sex to be consensual, there has to be a ‘yes’ at every point. This is something teenagers in college struggle to understand and respect. Young men should be told only to participate sexually with a person who has clearly given them consent to be sexual with them, no matter what principles they’ve learned or whether they are perpetrators or not, it is important to educate every young man about this.

Alcohol and Drug abuse is one of the big factors that lead to young women being sexual victims in colleges. It is not only blame but a lot of young people in colleges indulge in party lifestyles that are full of alcohol and drug consumption. It is important for colleges to educate both parties about the responsibility of being careful around this lifestyle, as The Washington Post speaks about this, we as young men and women have to take care of each other especially if there are terrible guys lurking around waiting for their next victim. A summary of key points from the article on why college guys commit assaults they don’t realize is assaulted helps us understand furthermore about the Red Zone. It wouldn’t exist if it has been only composed of terrible guys and alcohol. Even people who understand higher are appearing inside a culture that too regularly treats the matter of consent as a joke, teaches straight females that their first sexual preference is captivating men ( to the factor of struggling pain), and presumes guys are sexually aggressive and women as sexual gatekeepers. Also that intercourse is something too private and embarrassing to discuss, with our children, students, and even with prospective sexual partners.

We have a responsibility to learn from past events and from each other in order to educate people about sexual harassment in colleges. Just as it was quoted in the article, ‘ Perpetrators are to blame for their actions, but all of us are responsible for changing the culture. Even those of us who think right. ‘ So even though the perpetrators should be rightfully punished for their actions, it is still in our hands to try and teach others or look out for those who are in danger of being sexual victims.

Executive Summary

This paper analyzes the sexual misconduct policy at Augusta University by explaining its protocol when it comes to students who become alleged victims of sexual harassment. The review specifically looks at the pros and cons of this policy and seeks to point out anything that may need improvement as well as compare and contrast the policy to other universities’ policies in and out of state. Domestic and Dating violence is explained in the policy to help students understand the differences between the two. It also gives anonymous reporters an opportunity to help someone else who they think may be in a difficult situation while also expressing the consequences of false reporting. After analyzing the policy, recommendations have been stated in an effort to help Augusta University improve its policy for the sake of the (University, 2017) schools’ safety and the students that attend the college for their education.

Introduction

Augusta University along with other universities and colleges has an online sexual misconduct policy or either it is handed out to students who attend the school during their freshman year. Augusta University policy specifically states that “in order to reduce all incidents of sexual misconduct, University System of Georgia institutions are required to provide prevention tools and to conduct ongoing awareness and prevention programming and training for the campus community”.

Augusta University’s sexual misconduct policy is publicly open to anyone in or outside the school. You may access the policy through the University’s homepage or call the campus for directions as to how to access the policy. Considering that the policy is open publicly, most students are unaware of the policy and what it states. This is caused by the lack of engagement used on this particular topic. While Augusta University helps to engage students in extracurricular activities and other education programs, there is no specific program for those who suffer sexual harassment or feel that they may know someone who is experiencing those types of issues. Events associated with this topic are only brought around once a year when it should be brought around each term (spring, fall, summer). Studies show that students will react more positively to this topic and will be well aware of the school policies if more activities were created to engage the topic.

Background and Context

Augusta University policy was put in place to protect students and staff and to also provide hope for those who are scared to come forward. In 2017, several incidents occurred on the Augusta University campus. Students were sexually harassed on-campus parking lots while leaving class or sexually harassed in campus buildings or dorms. Students were able to use the University’s hotline for reporting emergencies and were given the support needed to help calm them. If students were not able to identify their attacker by name, an email was sent to students in an effort to receive help from those who might be able to identify the suspect. If anyone feels the need to report an act of sexual misconduct; an anonymous report may be called in. However, it will be hard for the institution to investigate and take action. False complaints are prohibited and can result in serious consequences.

Analysis

​The policy also encourages students, faculty, and staff who experience these types of incidents to report them immediately so that the issue may be handled and resolved as quickly as possible as well as taking the proper precautions. There are two types of violence discussed in the policy, domestic and dating violence. The difference between these two types of violence is marital status. In order words, dating violence can happen to alleged victims who are currently in a non-marital relationship. Domestic violence can happen to alleged victims who are currently in a marital relationship. Information on dating and domestic violence can be found in other university policies in Georgia and out-of-state Universities such as Clemson University. The difference between our state college policies and in-state policies is that in-state policies have more information than out of state as well as the same information throughout all college policies in the state. In addition, Augusta University does not have a separate faculty policy from out-of-state colleges do. This could prove more beneficial to everyone on and off campus.

​According to studies done by researchers, it is said that although a campus may post its policy online for easy access, if no there is no engagement to support the policy, then the policy has little effect. In other words, Augusta University has many extracurricular activities going on for different events but there are not many social events regarding sexual misconduct or sexual harassment. If there are events held on this particular topic, this will have a positive effect on all students, especially female students. This could potentially bring forward victims who are afraid to step up because they fill that justice may not be done for them. Events that support this topic will also decrease the number of cases per year dealing with sexual misconduct as well as build strength for those who feel they are too weak to defend themselves.

Recommendations

​After reading this policy carefully, there are two recommendations that should be considered in improving this policy. Augusta University should have a separate policy for faculty and staff. Although faculty and staff are mentioned in the policy, it gives them little direction as to what they are supposed to do when they come across similar situations. Activities and events will bring more positivity to those who may be interested in learning more about sexual misconduct. According to Laurie Graham’s article, “Sexual Assault Policies and Consent Definitions: a Nationally Representative Investigation of U.S. Colleges and Universities,

This will bring forward encouragement and strength among women who are in situations regarding sexual harassment. The more students are aware of this policy, the more positive feedback there is among students and the easier it gets to get their attention when it comes to this matter. This will also reduce the sexual harassment rate that has been gradually increasing over the past five years.

Conclusion

All students at Augusta University will find that the sexual misconduct policy is available online at all times as well as emergency numbers if needed. They will also find in the policy that necessary investigations will always take place whether the incident is reported anonymously or reported upfront. Although the policy is accessible, students may find it more suitable to be able to join in events that recognize this issue and will want to make a difference in someone’s life. Women will find it even more supportive considering that studies show that men are most likely to sexually harass women the women are to sexually harass men. Together these changes will make it a better and safer place to get an education as well enjoying your college experiences with other students.

References/Works Cited

1. https://www.clemson.edu/campus-life/campus-services/access/title-ix/
2. Laurie M. Graham (2017) Sexual Assault Policies and Consent Definitions: A Nationally Representative Investigation of U.S. Colleges and Universities.
3. Retrieved from: www.tanfonline.com/action/showCitFormats?doi=10.1080%2F15388220.2017.1318572 https://www.augusta.edu/student-life/conduct/documents/sexual-misconduct-sept-17.pdf

When I made my commitment to Baylor I was overwhelmed by the amount of mocking and warning I received for committing to what my peers called ‘rape university’. These comments towards Baylor were in response to the Baylor football team rape scandal that took place in 2016. It was the first time I was ever made aware of sexual assault or rape on campuses and the role of Title IX and what actions were made in cases like that. I educated myself on the issue and scandal at Baylor, and despite the massive scandal and the mocking I received from my peers, and as well as believing that after the scandal serious changes had been made, I knew Baylor was the place for me. No less than a week here the student body received a statement that someone reported a case of sexual assault. This incident not only opened my eyes to the serious issue here, but it also caused me to ask some questions like: “What is being done to protect the students from sexual assault?’, “What causes a sexual assault to occur so frequently on campus?”, ‘What does Title IX do to support the victims?”. These questions have been on my mind since August 2018, but the questions became more persistent in my mind in January when students were informed that during the first semester five other cases of sexual assault had been filed. Unfortunately, the school waited around three months to inform the student body about the reports that had been made. Since Baylor decided to wait so long to inform the student body about the cases that had been filed, I began to question the universities actions and what they were truly doing to solve this problem.

The issue of sexual assault is very real and persistent at Baylor University, and the students have the right to feel safe at the university they are spending a fortune to attend and they have the right to have answers to questions of their safety. Baylor University is not the only school facing this epidemic, it is happening at universities around the country. Baylor has just happened to receive coverage of it due to the 2016 scandal. Which can be seen as a positive thing because it forces Baylor to adjust their system to decrease the amount of sexual assault on campus. But because it is happening everywhere, women face a scary statistic that one out of every five women will experience sexual assault while in college. This issue is so prevalent on Baylor’s campus and it does not seem to be decreasing despite their recent scandals and actions made my the university to inform students. I will evaluate the several different causes of sexual assault on campus and the training and protocols made by Title IX to fix this problem. I will also focus on three important factors of sexual assault that will help me grasp an understanding of what could cause it: alcohol use, male groups encouraging sexual assault, and different kinds sexual coercion.

Parties are an inevitable part of a college atmosphere, whether one chooses to go to the party or not they will continue to occur on college campuses. And with partying, alcohol is usually a factor. From my experience I know that alcohol causes people to lose touch with their morals and judgment, which can cause people to do things that they would not have done sober. Although that can be the case, in my opinion, alcohol is not an excuse for sexual assault, whether it be the perpetrator who was under the influence, the victim, or both, alcohol cannot be used as an excuse to why someone committed an act of sexual assault. Alcohol can influence sexual assault happening, but it is not the sole reason that it happened, the perpetrator made the decision to take advantage of the victim. There are two different studies that I will focus on that help me analyze the role of alcohol better, one evaluated the perpetrator and the role of alcohol and the other evaluated the victim and the role of alcohol. What I learned from my research is that alcohol can influence sexual aggression of perpetrators and that plus a party atmosphere can chaotic.

In a peer-reviewed research article written by Antover P. Tuliao and Dennis McChargue, they discovered from their study that: “This data adds to the growing evidence that alcohol primes sexually motivated intentions and increases the likelihood of risky sexual behavior, particularly sexual aggression” (Tuliao and Dennis, 325). Alcohol inherently plays a major role in causing a perpetrator to act sexually aggressive towards a victim. This can lead to sexual assault or even rape. So in a party atmosphere, when an offender is under the influence of alcohol they can be less aware of the morality of the situation and act out a desire without the consent of the other party. Alcohol does influence a person to do so, but I believe the underlying desire stems from how society views sex, men and women. Not all men or women commit acts of sexual assault, but the ones that do have very similar characteristics, that I will discuss later in this essay.

The second viewpoint is that of the victim and the role alcohol plays in putting the victim in that situation. The study that gave me most of this information almost blames the victims for putting themselves in that terrible situation by binge drinking or partying, rather than focusing on perpetrators alcohol use. The study, ‘A Prospective Study of Sexual Assault and Alcohol Use Among First-Year College Women’, was conducted by Emily R. Mouilso, Sarah Fischer, and Karen S. Calhoun. Their results concluded that “frequent binge drinking was a strong risk factor for sexual assault” (Mouilso, Fischer and Calhoun, 91). Their evidence suggests that the more a woman binge drinks the more likely she is to be sexually assaulted.

Although their results may be true, I believe that they are disregarding a major factor in this, the perpetrator’s role. Their study helped back up one of my causes, that alcohol may play a role in sexual assault, but they did not properly evaluate the offender’s place. I do not think forbidding men or women from drinking will solve the problem of sexual assault, I believe it stems deeper than the actions displayed by intoxicated people. In my opinion having prior knowledge of this fact can decrease the likelihood of someone putting themselves in an unsafe situation that could lead to sexual assault. Mouilso, Fischer, and Calhoun’s argument can be seen as a counter argument for sexual assault because they are putting the blame on the victim’s choice to put themselves in that situation rather than addressing the offender. Alcohol, for the offender, is just an excuse to receive something that they could have gotten using coercion or any other tactic. Again, in my opinion and from my personal experience, committing acts of sexual assault stems the person’s view and respect of their victim, and their knowledge of punishment and morals. Alcohol is merely just an excuse and way for an offender to take easier advantage of a victim.

The second cause of sexual assault is the influence of men in specifically male groups. An example of this would be yet another scandal that took place at Baylor. According to The Washington Post, Jacob Anderson, the former fraternity president of Phi Delta Theta was charged with four counts of sexual assault and raped an unconscious 19-year-old girl in 2016, he ended up taking a plea deal for $400 and had to register as a sex offender. Could that terrible incident have been avoided if Anderson was not in a strictly male organization? According to Schwartz and DeKeseredy, authors of ‘Male Peer-Support Theories of Sexual Assault’, the fact that he was in a male club, that influenced him to commit acts of rape. I am not stating that because Jacob Anderson was involved in a fraternity at Baylor, that is why he raped his victim, I am only suggesting that being apart of such a highly competitive and masculine group may have influenced his views of sex and women. In Schwartz and DeKeseredy article, they come to the conclusion that men who are in homosocial (all male) groups find other men with similar beliefs as them (ie. women are only useful for sex) and surround themselves with those similar beliefs men (Schwartz and DeKeseredy, 37). This can cause men to encourage others around to try and have sex with as many women as possible, thus making it a competition. They all tend to have the same outlook on women so they do not see the wrong in sexually assaulting someone, because they ultimately got what they desired out of the situation. Along with homosocial groups encouraging each other to procure as much sex as possible, Cortney A. Franklin, Leana Bouffard, and Travis C. Pratt also point out how men with low self-control who are in all-male groups are also more likely to commit acts of sexual assault (Franklin, Bouffard and Pratt, 1458). Men with low self-control are more likely to commit acts of crime (ie. sexual assault or rape) than men with normal self-control. This theory is self-explanatory if one has low self-control than they are less likely to stop a criminalistic action from possibly occurring. My example of low self-control is, for instance, a three-year-old with low self-control wants a candy bar but does not have the money for it, because he has low self-control he would just end up stealing it to satisfy his needs rather than move on from the desire. Maybe Jacob Anderson had low self-control and was encouraged by his fraternity brothers, maybe that was the reason he committed a very violent act of rape. Overall low self-control plus male peer support can greatly influence an act of sexual assault occurring.

Coercion plays a major factor in sexual assault and unfortunately, it is apart of the grey areas when it comes to the victim giving consent or not. My definition coercion in relation to sexual assault or rape is when a perpetrator persuades a victim to perform sexual acts while disregarding the victims’ desires or consent. Coercion can subtly take place so frequently that the person experiencing it may not even realize what’s going on until afterward. This is an assumption stems from my personal experience. Without the education of sexual coercion, the victim may not fully understand what is going on. In the research essay, ‘Exploring Definitions and Prevalence of Verbal Sexual Coercion and Its Relationship to Consent to Unwanted Sex: Implications for Affirmative Consent Standards on College Campuses’ done by Brandie Pugh and Patricia Becker, they explore defining verbal sexual coercion and how it relates to unwanted sex. The authors define verbal sexual as “the psychological pressure to engage in coerced sex in the absence of physical force or explicit threat of force” (Becker and Pugh, 4). My own example of this could be if a person blatantly says no to intercourse and yet the offender continues to pressure the victim into having sex until the offender gets their way. I feel with this issue, a lot of people are uneducated on it, so they are unaware of it taking place, but in hindsight, they understand that what has happened was wrong.

Next, I will explain Title IX and its affiliation with sexual assault on campus and what happens if an act of sexual assault takes place. In 1972 the United States Education Amendment created Title IX states that no person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. In Brooke Boucek article, ‘Ridding the He-Said-She-Said Dichotomy: The Deep Entanglement of Sexual Violence on College Campuses’, Boucek explains that, Title IX applies to all facets of federally funded education programs or activities; both victims and those falsely accused receive protection through an equal opportunity for education apart from sexual harassment under federal law. The amendment of Title IX stems from the prevalence of sexual assault on campus, also there are other amendments that were created after Title IX that gave more justice to the victims of sexual violence. In ‘Title IX and The State of Campus Sexual Violence in the United States: Power, Policy, and Local Bodies’ by Jennifer R. Wies, she portrays the role of the 1990 Clery Act and the Violence Against Women Act. Both Acts play a role in better protecting victims and women against crime that is upon them. The Clery Act requires colleges to put out an Annual Security Report, which shows all the crimes that have taken place during that school year. The Violence Against Women Act funds programs for women who are victims of violence and sexual assault. With three separate laws set out to protect victims and women against violence, one would expect the rates of sexual violence on college campuses to decrease. This is evidently wrong when the statistic that a woman will be sexually assaulted in college is one out of five . So, it causes me to question what is wrong with the system? Why is there not a decrease with the implementation of these Acts? What is the role of the people in charge when it comes to these situations?

In ‘The Role of Title IX Coordinators on College and University Campuses’ by Jacquelyn D. Wiersma-Mosley and James DiLoreto, they use a research study to define the role of Title IX coordinators. Their evidence shows that many Title IX coordinators are under qualified and inadequately trained for their job and the ability to take on such heavy cases like a case of sexual assault (Wiersma-Mosley and DiLoreto, 3). The authors define exactly what the coordinators should be trained for, which is “… [coordinators] must take immediate action to eliminate hostile environments, prevent recurrences; campus and schools must adopt and publish grievance procedures; employees must be trained to know how to report to officials; policies must be published that includes a notice of discrimination; all these must be combined with education and training programs” (Wiersma-Mosley and DiLoreto, 2). But according to the study done by Wiersma-Mosley and DiLoreto, several of the employees in this position feel that they are under qualified for the role and responsibility of a Title IX coordinator, which can explain why the prevalence of sexual assault on college campuses has not decreased but has significantly increased.

So what can we do to change that? First, we can properly train Title IX coordinators so they are confident in the qualifications and the procedures they do when it comes to sexual assault. An idea of mine is that there could be a separate coordinator that deals specifically with sexual assault rather than sexual plus other discriminations that fall under the Title IX coordinators responsibility. In ‘A Title IX Conundrum: Are Campus Visitors Protected from Sexual Assault?’ by Hannah Brenner, the author has another idea for a way to decrease sexual assault on campus. Brenner believes that colleges and universities should accommodate for the visitors of campuses by allowing them to have the same rights as a student does under Title IX when it comes to sexual assault so that their case is dealt with in a just and equal manner (Brenner, 137).

Another idea to decrease the prevalence of sexual assault on campus was defined by Meredith G. F. Worthen and Samantha A. Wallace in ‘Intersectionality and Perceptions About Sexual Assault Education and Reporting on College Campuses’. They did a research that found that “women are more likely than men to be aware of issues associated with sexual assault” (Wallace and Worthen, 181) and “Men expressed less overall support for the [educational] program than women did… White men’s responses (20%) were the most likely to be classified as angry responses” (Wallace and Worthen, 190). Their evidence proves that not everyone is supportive of a sexual assault educational program and despite that, I believe that an educational program would be very influential. At Baylor, they provided one seminar at the beginning of the year that went over sexual assault on campus. It was evident by the responses in the audience that it was not taken seriously and my opinion is that Baylor did not portray it as a serious matter, it was just something that needed to be done. Schools need to emphasis on how serious this issue is and how sexual assault can easily change someone’s life.

The issue of sexual assault has many grey areas and determining the causes and truly learning about them can hopefully decrease the frequency of it occurring on college and university campuses. There is no doubt that alcohol increases the likelihood of sexual assault happening. Whether that be the victim drinking too much and not having a responsible guardian looking after them, or the offender drinking and having easier access to commit the crime. With that being said, alcohol is no excuse for someone to commit an act of sexual assault or rape, although it can influence someone in doing so it was their actions and desire to perform the act. Alcohol clouds judgment and makes it very difficult for someone to give their consent to any sexual act so to avoid sexual assault, in my opinion, people should stray from implementing sexual acts while under the influence. While I know that is not easy to control, having the knowledge of it prior to going to a bar or party could decrease sexual assault from happening. It is also important to discuss how men in homosocial groups are more likely to commit acts of sexual assault. When they already have low self-control, the pressure or encouragement to have sex by the men around them can influence men to commit sexual assault and rape. This theory could be applied to the Jacob Anderson case at Baylor or the Baylor football rape scandal in 2016. Therefor with the same mindset and respect of women, these men easily take advantage of a woman and take what they want just to fulfill their own sexual desires. Coercion can also influence sexual assault and it is very important for everyone to educate themselves on this because, without the knowledge of it, one can easily be coerced and not see the issue with it. The role of Title IX on college campuses is dysfunctional, coordinators are not properly trained to adequately help the victims of sexual assault. I believe that adding a branch to Title IX that specifically deals with sexual assault can help the victims and offenders feel as if their case is truly as important as it is. We can also decrease the amount of sexual assault on campus by properly educating the students on the issue and making sure it is portrayed as the serious issue that it is. It can be useful to educate the students more frequently rather than just once throughout their whole college education. Colleges need to take this issue more seriously so it can be dealt with better and decrease it. This issue is not something that should be normalized on college or university campuses, it is impactful to the victim’s lives and it is an immoral issue that needs to be resolved so students can receive a proper education without having to worry about being sexually assaulted.