Isabelle Norlén was on a cruise with a friend in 2015 when she left the dance floor early one night and was unknowingly followed back to her room by three men. “About 40 minutes later, my friend found me naked, bloody, and unconscious on the hotel room sofa. I was so incredibly shocked when I woke up. I didn’t know where I was, and I refused to understand what had happened.” (Gartéus, 2016). Sexual assault is a significant issue in countries all over the world. Victims of sexual assault, often suffer lifelong mental and physical pain and in some cases even suicide. As defined by RAINN, sexual assault refers to sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the victim. In order to minimize the number of sexual assaults in today's society, there has to be harsher punishments as well as better rehabilitation programs for the offenders, people must speak up and report their experiences to authorities, and there must be an increased certainty that offenders will be prosecuted.
Sexual assault is a problem that has been prominent in the United States for centuries (RAINN, 2016). One of the major issues with this crime is that it is actively viewed by society as most shameful for the victim, leading to statistics not often being brought up in conversations. As a result of the silencing of this issue, it has prevented the population from becoming aware of the situation and the immense consequences it has on the country. Along with the impacts that sexual assault has on the victims, at $127 billion per year, sexual assault is also one of the most costly crimes for the United States (NSVRC, 2014). Today’s society has an extreme lack of sympathy for victims because the idea that rape is the victim’s fault has been ingrained in people’s minds since they were young. Girls are told not to wear short skirts or show their shoulders because it can be “distracting” for the boys. They are told that it is their fault if they get raped the night they are wearing a tight dress. In the case of a woman being sexually assaulted, interviews show that offenders believe avoidance of rape is indeed the responsibility of the woman (NCPTSD, 2016). This information may also be the reason why rape is the most under-reported crime in the United States with 63% of adult sexual assaults not being reported and 88% child sexual abuse crimes not being reported (NSVRC, 2014).
Every 98 seconds, someone is sexually assaulted in the United States (BJS, 2014), and of the total rape victims, 90% are women (BJS, 2014). Since so many victims of rape and sexual abuse are blamed for the crime, reactions such as depression, shame, and guilt are equally as common as; shock, confusion, anxiety, and anger (NCPTSD, 2016). Lifelong impacts on the victim both physically and psychologically are common in almost every case (RAINN, 2016). In most cases, victims are diagnosed with PTSD due to the re-experiencing of the event through flashbacks, avoidance of the subject by changing behavior, losing interest in things one used to enjoy, as well as hyperarousal, such as having difficulty falling asleep, focusing, or having anxiety attacks (RAINN, 2016). Eating disorders are also prevalent amongst victims as it proves to be a way for the victim to cope with the trauma and regain control of their body (RAINN, 2016). In conjunction with other psychological effects, the victim may experience feelings of worthlessness and self-hate. In many cases, victims are ashamed of what happened and refuse to speak up or tell someone, which can lead to self-harm or even suicide to numb the pain, feel a release, or regain control (RAINN, 2016). Sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies are some of the other effects that may impact a victim and have extreme consequences such as a child being born to a parent with no ability to take care of it. According to the National Center of PTSD, victims of rape are also 3.4 times more likely to use marijuana and six times more likely to use cocaine to control other symptoms related to assault (NCPTSD, 2016). Substance abuse is yet another tremendously costly crime for the United States with about an estimated economic cost of over $193 billion in 2007 (USDJ, 2011). As shown by statistics, sexual assault and rape culture are taking an enormous toll on the United States both for individuals and the country as a whole.
Much too many cases of rape and sexual assault go unpunished with 993 of 1000 offenders not spending a day in prison (BJS, 2013). 20% of victims do not want to report because they fear retaliation and 13% believe that the police would not do anything to help (BJS, 2013). This explicitly shows that something must be done in order to increase the certainty that the offender will be punished. The most common reasons why rape often goes unpunished is due to a lack of evidence and an inability to identify the perpetrator (RAINN, 2016). Law enforcement will under no circumstances press charges if they cannot prove the guilt of the offender, despite the fact that they know that the crime was indeed committed by that specific person (RAINN, 2016). According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, only 13 out 1000 instances of rape get referred to a prosecutor, and out of those 13 cases, only 7 cases will lead to a felony conviction (BJS, 2013). These numbers must change in order for more people to dare to speak up and report their incidents. After all that they have gone through, victims should not feel helpless in this process. The government must become more human and show that they are there to support and assist victims while working on prosecuting the offender and making the country a safer place for everyone.
Approximately 150,000 adult sex offenders are in state and federal prisons each year in the United States (BJS, 2013), and between 10,000 and 20,000 are released back into the community annually (CSOM, 2007). Of these criminals released from prison, 60% will commit another crime within five years (BJS, 2013). This country has become lost in a negative cycle, although there must be a way out.
The reasoning for sexual assault can in many cases be narrowed down to characteristics most prominently due to a person’s past and environment they grew up in. Often, people assume that sex offenders are strangers, but in fact, 93% of juvenile victims knew the perpetrator beforehand (RAINN, 2016). According to a source from the STEM database, men who commit sexual assault are more likely to endorse traditional gender-role stereotypes (Abbey, 2001). In researching sex offenders, it also suggests that an offender’s past dramatically affects future behavior. Their personality, attitude, life experiences, relationship with alcohol, sexual assault history, and beliefs about alcohol’s effects all encourage sexual assault behavior (Abbey, 2001). Alcohol is also used by rapists to excuse or justify their behavior, so much that half of all sexual assaults are in conjunction with heavy alcohol consumption (Abbey, 2001).
With the current statistics showing the prevalence of sexual assaults in current society, it is vital for future generations that a solution is found. Harsher punishments must be implemented by longer time spent in prison, more long-term effects on offender such as not being allowed to be around children, as well as more control of prisoners once they are released in order to prevent reoffending. Although longer punishments may sound like a solution, there are many issues with it (Brooks, 2015). Mass incarceration is another difficult issue in the United States that is placing tremendous economic pressure the country. Keeping criminals incarcerated requires great amounts of resources, and will therefore only cause more expenses and obstacles for the country. Instead, there needs to be an increased certainty for sexual offenders to end up in prison. An increased assurance will also result in more people being willing to report their incidents to the authorities, as they know that there is a higher chance of a prosecution of their rapist.
For many criminals, incarceration does not prove effective in keeping them from reoffending. The government must, therefore, reconsider their budget by spending more on creating rehabilitation programs which truly prove useful in treating sexual offenders (WSIPP, 2009). There must be increased rehabilitation programs for all offenders depending on the level of their crime, and they must be required rather than optional. It is found that the average recidivism rate for sexual offenders who receive cognitive-behavioral/relapse prevention treatment is 6%, while the average recidivism rate for sex offenders who do not receive treatment is 21% (WSIPP, 2009). These statistics suggest that by enforcing the requirement of rehabilitation, the number of sexual assaults by previously prosecuted offenders will potentially decrease.
Isabelle came home from the cruise the next day and was so ashamed that she did not even want to tell her parents. “Once I had told my parents, we immediately went to the hospital. The gynecologist said it was amongst the worst she had seen. We immediately reported the incident to the police and two interrogations passed, but the case was dismissed soon after. Despite surveillance videos from the cruise ship, documentation from the hospital visit, and DNA evidence, the authorities did not think that there was enough evidence, and that it was word against word.” (Gartéus, 2016). Today, the three perpetrators that raped Isabelle are still walking the streets, entirely unpunished (Gartéus, 2016). Much too many cases of sexual assault end this way, causing an extreme problem for society both socially and economically, as well as leaving victims with a fear of retaliation and severe mental issues. The population of the United States must work together to speak up and spread the knowledge on this issue in order to minimize the amount of sexual assaults.