Essay: Analysing three articles related to sexual assault on post-secondary campuses

Article 1
The article Male Peer Support and a Feminist Routine Activities Theory: Understanding Sexual Assault on the College Campus by Martin Schwartz, Walter DeKeseredy, David Tait, and Shahid Alvi, sheds some light on a growing topic of discussion in North America: sexual assault. The main arguments outlined in this article concentrate on the motivation behind sexual assault on campus, victims being “suitable” or vulnerable figures, and lastly, the lack of guardianship in order to understand the increase of sexual assault on post-secondary campuses. The authors develop these claims through multiple research tools as well as examining theories. Some research methods included are the use of victimization surveys and the Sexual Experiences Survey that was tweaked to become a survey called FORCE (Schwartz et al., 2001). The purpose of these surveys is to identify key factors that lead to the behaviour of sexual aggression, and the results show that women are the victims of unwanted sexual aggression much more significantly than men (Schwartz et al., 2001). Additionally, the routine activities theory assists the authors with determining that motivation highly impacts sexual behaviour (Schwartz et al., 2001). Furthermore, this theory also provides evidence that the use of drugs and alcohol play a role, as well as male peer support. Through the exploration of the effects of drug and alcohol use, the authors results show that although sexual assault will always happen, “where one occurs, the other is more likely” (Schwartz et al., 2001). Logically, these arguments are valid because evidence reports that women were more likely to report sexual victimization when under the influence of alcohol, and the consumption of the same substances in men lead them to engage in sexually aggressive behaviour against women (Schwartz et al., 2001). Through the examination of these findings it is clear that these substances can alter reality and both the victim and perpetrator may not mentally be fully present and aware. Motivation and male peer support are interconnected because men are often encouraged by their peers to behave a particular way, and therefore they develop new attitudes and behaviours to motivate them (Schwartz et al., 2001), and men are often pressured to have dominance and authority to perfect a “typical male image”. The evidence offered is adequate because the routine activities theory for example, “has been widely cited, discussed, and tested” (Schwartz et al., 2001). The conclusions drawn from the authors’ research are very important as they illustrate the connection between all the variables. Schwartz et al. (2001) concludes that “undergraduate men who drank two or more times a week and who had friends who gave them peer support for both emotional and physical partner abuse were more than nine times as likely to report committing sexual abuse as men reporting none of these three characteristics”. Again, all the arguments made are supported through the theories, surveys, and the examination of correlations between the results and findings.
Article 2
In the article The Role of Institutional Factors on On-Campus Reported Rxxe Prevalence by Rebecca L. Stotzer and Danielle MacCartney, there are several arguments outlining why campus sexual assault is so prevalent today. Additionally, there is an increase in reported crime linked to sexual assault. The arguments provided state that the victims are “available”, the offenders are “motivated”, and that the guardianship around the campus is quite poor in taking control of such cases. These arguments are based off of the logic that “crimes occur when there is a motivated offender, an available victim, and a lack of capable guardians”, which was stated by Cohen and Felson in 1979 (Stotzer & MacCartney, 2015). These arguments are supported by the application of RAT and statistics found between the years 1992 to 2014 (Stotzer & MacCartney, 2015). Additionally, these arguments are found to be quite sound as they directly relate to sexual assault and vulnerability. As stated in the arguments, the offender sexually assaults the victim when the victim is “available” and that the guardianship around is poor (Stotzer & MacCartney, 2015). This shows vulnerability of the victim and furthermore explains the simplicity for an offender to commit the crime. The implications provided on why the offender would be motivated are also supported with facts and real life examples such as the typical view of a male being “manly” and what makes him this way, as well as the acceptance in fraternities (Stotzer & MacCartney, 2015). The authors’ conclusions state that the examinations are fairly aligned with the arguments and that there must be a precautionary action required. Along with that, it is also concluded that colleges and universities must already have a higher sexual assault rate than actually shown (Stotzer & MacCartney, 2015). These conclusions are valid as the statistics prove that due to lack of guardianship and support to the individual victims, rxxe is increasing but people are not able to come forward and make the case. The evidence offered throughout the article differ quite a lot from one another as the earliest piece of evidence was founded in 1992 and the latest being 2014, and therefore this leaves room for inadequacy. Statistics found earlier than five to ten years ago cannot be accepted as there are many variables that may have changed the data in time (Stotzer & MacCartney, 2015). Also, the application of RAT (routines activity theory) which the article is heavily depicted on cannot be a fair source as it was theorized over 30 years ago. The authors conclusion demonstrates that there is a valid assumption that there must be a higher rate of sexual assault on college and university campuses.
Article 3
The third article, Sexual Assault and Rxxe Perpetration by College Men, written by Emily K. Voller and Patricia J. Long, examines the personality comparisons and differences in sexual offense perpetrators. Through the use of clinical and research implications the authors state that “individuals who perpetrate sexual offenses, particularly rxxe, differ from non-perpetrators on dimensions of normal personality” (Voller & Long, 2010). These claims are developed through a model called the hierarchical-mediational confluence model, which assists in the understanding of the occurrence of sexual violence (Voller & Long, 2010). According to Voller and Long (2001), this model suggests that “that a person’s likelihood to sexually aggress against women may be explained by various individual characteristics and experiences”. Many of the attitudes include self-centered personality characteristics, the acceptance of hostility and violence toward females, in addition to childhood abuse and unstable homes (Voller & Long, 2010), along with many others. In fact, research shows that several individual traits interconnect with perpetration (Voller & Long, 2010). Many of the lack of traits involved with sexual assault perpetrators include social conscientiousness, maturity, and responsibility, specifically compared to non-perpetrators (Voller & Long, 2010) – who possess these qualities. This leads to the assumption that perpetration can possibly be assumed in those who fall under all the mentioned characteristics; however, anyone can become a perpetrator. To support this, Voller and Long (2010) even say that results have been inconsistent, although offenders generally have the inability to empathize and communicate, and show signs of being more depressed, hostile, irritable, and angry. Another model that supports the argument previously outlined is the five-factor model which addresses the understanding of how perpetrators are different those who are not “on a comprehensive measure of normal personality that takes account of an individual’s enduring experiential, attitudinal, interpersonal, emotional, and motivational styles” (Voller & Long, 2010). This evidence form this model is noted as adequate and logical because it is a “widely accepted model” (Voller & Long, 2010). Voller and Long (2001) say that the FFM involves “the big-five personality traits of neuroticism (N), extraversion (E), openness (O), agreeableness (A), and conscientiousness (C) and would provide a good foundation for exploring the basic personality of sexual-assault perpetrators”. The findings of the authors also show that two main constructs in relation to sexual assault are demands for dominance and power (Voller & Long, 2010), often seen in men. In addition, they also use the Sexual Experiences Survey to further prove the logic of their arguments. The authors make the assumption that all perpetrators reflect the same traits; however, results show that that is not entirely true. They even continue to mention “overall personality profiles followed remarkably comparable patterns for sexual-assault perpetrators and non-perpetrators, suggesting that sexual-assault perpetrators were more similar to non-perpetrators than to rxxe perpetrators” (Voller & Long, 2010). In conclusion, the results somewhat illustrate the intentions of the authors arguments in addressing the issues of sexual assault on campus.
Synthesis
After carefully examining all three articles related to sexual assault on post-secondary campuses, it is evident that pieces from each journal intertwine with one another. For example, the first two articles mention male peer support; and oftentimes men in particular are pressured by their friends to behave a certain way in order to develop a typical masculine image. The third article relates to this topic because it mentions, “Men who are more likely to perpetrate are hyper- masculine and have a higher need for power and dominance” (Voller & Long, 2010). Another way all ideas connect is through the mention of how women are usually the victims and men are typically the perpetrators. Again, this is shown through the peer pressure men undergo, but also the implication of how women have been treated in comparison to the male counterparts dating far back into history. Additionally, both the first and third article demonstrate the use of the Sexual Experience Surveys in determining results of perpetrators and victims. To conclude, the articles complement each other in terms of their content of research and findings, and thoroughly address the issue of sexual assault on campus, in hopes of putting an end to this.