Sexual Harassment in University Essay Example

numbers of student in campuses and go hunting them for sexual purposes (Geggel, 2016). The students here feel unsafe as nothing is done by the administrations to prevent more rapes from happening. Therefore the students are left at the mercy of the hunters who are the rapists.

My Opinion on the Role of the University Administration

In my opinion, the colleges fail to hold the perpetrators accountable because they lack due process for handling rape cases. When the processes used are not competent, the perpetrators will win the case even if they are guilty. If the offender wins the case, they might decide to sue the institution for defamation. Another thing that may be making the university administration not to act in these cases is the attitude of the society. These administrators come from societies where rape is not taken seriously. In some communities, rape happens even to children under the age of ten yet nothing much is done. The community in general needs to be educated on the need to report abuse cases. There is a need also for the students to ensure they do not go for parties where their friends are aiming at taking advantage of them when they get drunk and sleep with them without their consent. Every student should party responsibly.

Solution to This Problem

For the academic institutions to minimize the risks of rape to the student, they should first improve on security measures in campuses. The security department should implement strong security measures to reduce and if possible eliminate the risk of rape on campuses such as putting in place or repairing security systems in residence halls, adequate lighting, and information campaigns

(Nicholas, 2015). The universities should also prepare official policy statements and distribute them to all the students regarding sexual misconduct. All details that relate to sexual assaults including definition should be included there and instances at which sexual assault happen. Then they should give recommendations on how students can protect themselves. The campuses administration can develop a written plan on how to deal with reported cases outlining how the university will respond to the sexual assault cases reported. This statement should show how the rights of the accused and the victims will be protected and the process the accused will be taken through to prove they are guilty.

The consequences of sexual misconduct should be harsher to scare students from engaging in sexual misconduct. The university administration should include sexual misconduct on the list of the most serious offenses a student can commit. The punishment should include expulsion for not less than two semesters of days the accused is supposed to be in school attending classes excluding any day when the accused does not have classes. By setting harsher punishment, most of the students will be scared of committing such crimes.

Programs Supporting Elimination of Harassment

There is a program called “#NoOneAsksForIt” which is a campaign aiming at eliminating sexual violence and sexual harassment on the University (Oakman, 2016). This campaign is asking students and staff to give their support to the campaign. The campaign is aimed at providing advice and educating all the people in the University to make the University free of sexual misconduct. The organizers are asking students to take a pledge to support efforts against sexual harassment by educating everybody about sexual assaults and

intervening in case they happen to see any unacceptable behavior.
The other program involves advice being offered on the University website on the procedure to follow and links to the police are provided, and a victim can use the link to report the case regarding sexual assault. The site also provides a definition of what sexual harassment is. They also provide a link which those who do not want to go public on their reporting can anonymously report.

Effectiveness of the Programs

The programs aimed at eliminating sexual harassment are useful in educating the university community about how to protect themselves from sexual assaults experiences. It is helping in guiding those who are interested. Although not all the student who take their time to listen to what is being taught or even to participate, some will benefit from the program especially those who are new in the institution and do not understand what goes on in the university. The programs are also effective in educating the student which acts are counted as sexual assaults and how they can intervene in case they happen to witness anybody assaulting another student.

My Participation

So far I have participated in the #NoOneAsksForIt because I feel I have a role to play in eliminating sexual assaults. Every person is required to support any campaign that is geared towards creating a safe environment for everybody in our campuses. No one deserves sexual assaults and we should educate those who see women as sexual objects for them to accept that women deserve respect. It takes effort to make any change nd I believe when I go and join in this campaign, the little effort I make

combined with the effort of other like-minded students will bear good results. It may take time, but when the majority of the students get to talk about this issue frequently, it will stick in the minds of every student that it is wrong to harass others sexually.

References

1. Geggel, L. (2016). Live Science: The Science of Preventing Sexual Assaults on College Campuses. Retrieved from http://www.livescience.com/55274-how-to-prevent-rape-on- college-campuses.html
2. Nicholas, E. (2015). Why Critiques of the Campus Rape Documentary Only Prove its Point. Huffington Post. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elizabeth-nicholas/why- critiques-of-the-camp_b_8607618.html
3. Oakman, H. (2016). Edinburgh Uni Fight Sexual Harassment With New Campaign: No One Asks For It campaign developed by the University, University Students Association of Edinburgh University Sports Union. Retrieved from http://universitybusiness.co.uk/Article/edinburgh-uni-fight-sexual-harassment-with-new- campaign