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Sexual Assault; It isn’t just that thing we hear about in elementary school; it is absolutely 100% real. When it comes right down to it, according to the Office of Justice Program’s National Crime Victimization Survey, 1 in 4 people in the U.S. have been a victim of some type of sexual abuse and the percentage of the perpetrator being someone they are close to, is more than 50%. A lot of emphasis has been made to educate students when it comes to sexual abuse. When it comes to the education side of things I don’t feel like students are the only ones who need to be educated. Parents also need to be educated that’s where a lot of the focus needs to be made. Students can only take in so much.

What a world we live in, thinking that your little brother, your best friend, and the girl sitting next to you could have all been victims of sexual assault… only 30% of those who are victims of sexual assault even report it happening. The assailants are almost always a person of higher power than their victim; an uncle, grandmother, sibling, pastor, teacher… very rarely is it the other way around.

When we hear of a sexual assault encounter, we all, more than likely, think of a man vs. woman; being, the man as the assailant and the woman as the assaulted. Anna North, of Jezebel, says that of all assaulted victims, 80% were by male and the other 10% by female. So yes, a man is more likely to be the perpetrator, but not always. Why is it that men are more likely to be the abuser in such scenarios? Doctor Richard Sine says that, “it is proven; men have a stronger sex drive than women; they are physically and, usually, emotionally stronger than the woman in which they assault.”

Last year, a high school teacher of Bellport, Long Island, was accused of rape and criminal sex act charges with a 16 year-old girl. He was 26 years old, male, and obviously, of higher power (Smith).

Another incident, also last year, was a little different: a female high school teacher, who was 34, was accused of raping one of her 16 year-old students (Moran).

In both of these cases, the perpetrator was most definitely of higher power. But in some cases like this, what if the relationship was consensual? Then what? It doesn’t really matter; teachers are of higher power, and they have sworn to not have student-teacher relationships. That’s just the way it is. The student may have said something to a friend, who told a parent, who told authorities. That is often the case. There are some discussions with an opposing viewpoint of relationships like so, but really, no matter what; the relationship wasn’t okay at all.

Sexual Abuse isn’t just wrong; it truly affects the way people think, act, and even look. Abusers are both men and women, are of higher power, and are sick people. Sexual abuse happens way too much, and reported way too little. It isn’t going to stop unless people become more educated, more aware, and more responsible.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

 

Moran, Lee. “Utah High School Teacher Battles Felony Rape Charges For Having Sex With 16-Year-Old Student.” NYDailyNews.

 

“National Crime Victimization Survey.” U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1996.

 

North, Anna. “Sexual Abuse by Women: The Crime No One Wants to Investigate.” Jezebel.com.

 

Sine, Richard. “Sex Drive: How Do Men and Women Compare?.” WebMDFeature. WebMD.com.

 

Smith, Andrew. “Ex Bellport High Teen Testifies On Alleged Affair With Teacher.” Newsday.

 

"Sexual Assau." Visually. http://visual.ly/sexual-assault-power-money-control.

 

"Haven." WKU. WKU. Web.

<http://www.wku.edu/judicialaffairs/haven.php>.

 

"Break The Silence." Storify. Storify. Web. <https://storify.com/MoJGovUK/break-the-silence>.