Carleigh Parrish
UWRT 1103-027
October 30, 2018
Literature review
Abstract:
Are women in poverty more likely to be sexually assaulted than those of a higher socioeconomic status?
Problem Statement:
Sexual assault has reached exponential heights in the past decade. The question remains if it has something to do with one’s socioeconomic status. There have been many reports of women in poverty being assaulted more so than those who are wealthy. Two questions might arise from the issue: “Does poverty really have an effect on someone being sexually harassed?” or “What are the effects of sexual harassment on the poor?” In order to answer these two questions, researchers study the statistics of people being sexually assaulted in poorer areas. By seeing the statistics, it becomes easier to determine if women are more at risk of being sexually assaulted if they are in a lower socioeconomic class.
Literature Review:
Sexual harassment and assault can be defined as: unwanted sexual advances or favors and rape. It is a growing problem throughout our society today, as every 98 seconds a woman is sexually assaulted. Throughout the past few years, sexual assault has become more likely to occur in lower class, poorer communities. Researchers explain the reasons and effects on the lower class incidents.
In Julie Fletcher’s article, Living Below the Poverty Line Makes Me More Vulnerable to Sexual Harassment, she explains her own experiences with poverty and sexual harassment. Fletcher states “According to a 2004 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, people who are poor are twice as likely to be victims of sexual assault. Other studies in the early to mid-2000s confirm that poor women experience sexual predation at home, in public, and at work. Based on my own experiences, I fully believe that living below the poverty line has made me more vulnerable to being harassed and preyed upon, especially by those I rely upon for help or employment” (Fletcher, 2016). This thus shows that women in lower classes are more likely to experience sexual assault. Fletcher then goes on to say “It is difficult to explain to anyone who doesn’t live in this economic bracket how what seem like illogical decisions color our everyday lives. Dignity or gas money? Reporting harassment or a ride to work, store, or doctor appointments? Or maybe: reporting an employer or keeping a job that pays most of the bills” (Fletcher, 2016). By having already being in between a rock and hard place, it is very difficult for women (and men) to risk losing their only source of income by speaking up.
Researchers Bryant-Davis, Ullman, Tsong, Tilman, and Smith analyze the connections between sexual assault and poverty in their article Struggling to Survive: Sexual Assault, Poverty, and Mental Health Outcomes of African American Women. During their research, they found that “In a sample of impoverished women (primarily African American) who lived in shelter or low income housing, Wenzel and colleagues (2006) found that 41% of the women living in shelters and 21% of the women in living low-income housing reported being sexually assaulted in their lifetime” (Bryant-Davis, T., Ullman, S. E., Tsong, Y., Tillman, S., & Smith, K. (2010). They also established that “women living in poverty (Kalichman, Williams, Cherry, Belcher, &Nachimson, 1998) and women who receive public assistance (Honeycutt, Marshall, & Weston 2001) experience elevated rates of sexual assault (Bryant-Davis, T., Ullman, S. E., Tsong, Y., Tillman, S., & Smith, K. (2010). This goes on to prove that women in lower socioeconomic classes are definitely affected by sexual assault and its effects.
Next, researchers determine the connections between homeless women and sexual assault. In the article Correlates of Adult Assault among Homeless Women, doctors Hudson, Wright, Bhattacharya, Sinha, Nyamathi, and Marfisee state that “homeless women are highly susceptible to victimization” (Hudson, A., Wright, K., Bhattacharya, D., Sinha, K., Nyamathi, A., & Marfisee, M. (2010). Homeless women are certainly incorporated into the lower socioeconomic status, and are predominately located in the rough sides of town or in homeless shelters. They are typically preyed upon due to their lack of stableness, lack of resources, and because of their location. These women are typically not strong enough to fight off their predators or to cope mentally after the incident. While conducting their research, the doctors found that 43.3% of the homeless women had been sexually abused as a homeless adult. That is almost half of the amount of women they researched. This information correlates with the research that Bryant-Davis, Ullman, Tsong, Tilman, and Smith conducted in their article, Struggling to Survive: Sexual Assault, Poverty, and Mental Health Outcomes of African American Women.
The Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape conducted a study that states “Research shows an undeniable link between poverty and sexual violence” (Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, 2018). They believe this link exists because “Perpetrators of sexual violence target individuals who seem vulnerable—whether due to gender, age, race, disability, sexual orientation, immigration status, income, or other reason; they exploit victims and survivors caught in Catch-22 situations created by poverty” (Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape, 2018). This is why many sexually assaulted victims are those that are in poverty, because it makes them vulnerable, easy victims. The perpetrators are seemed to think twice about committing the same crime against women in higher economic classes because they have more resources to go through with the lawsuits connected to sexual assault. If a woman has more money, she can hire a good lawyer and the consequences of pressing charges will not be as detrimental to her as they would to a woman in poverty.
In Leah Fessler’s article, The Poorest Americans are Twelve Times as Likely to be Sexually Assaulted as the Wealthiest, she states that “[Women] with household incomes of less than $7,500 reported a victimization rate of 4.8 incidents per 1,000 people’s age 12 or older, which is 12 times the rate reported by those with household incomes greater than $75,000 (0.4 per 1,000)” (Fessler, 2018). This research indicates that women with lower incomes are more likely to be sexually assaulted than those of a higher socioeconomic class. Fessler then goes on to state “the prevalence of sexual assault increases dramatically as annual household income decreases” (Fessler, 2018). By the household income decreasing of these women, they are more susceptible to becoming sexual assault victims than those who have a higher household income. This inevitably leaves poorer women victims of sexual assault, as opposed to those women who are wealthier.
Lastly, we will examine the article Episodically homeless women with serious mental illness: Prevalence of physical and sexual assault, published by the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. Within their article, the researchers state that “In the case of sexual abuse, 40% of the women had been sexually assaulted by a stranger, 51% by a nonstranger (caregiver or acquaintance at least five years older), and 29% by both” (Goodman, L. A., Dutton, M. A., & Harris, M. (1995). They then go on to state “In general, poor women are more likely than other women to live in communities where levels of assault are high, opportunities for escape limited, and protective resources low (Browne, 1993b). Homelessness serves to exacerbate these conditions (Goodman, Saxe, & Harvey, 1991)”. This information found in their research correlates with the research of that established in the Correlates of Adult Assault among Homeless Women article. Homeless women are undeniably included in the lower socioeconomic status, further proving that sexual violence is more predominate along and below the poverty line.
Throughout research, it is more likely that women are sexually assaulted due to poverty and low economic status. Due to research conducted by the American Journal of Orthopsychiatry and the Doctors Hudson, Wright, Bhattacharya, Sinha, Nyamathi, and Marfisee, we can infer that homelessness also has some sort of effect on sexual assault. Although sexual assault can happen anywhere, at any time, and to anyone—it is more prevalent across the board involving those in poverty.