How Can Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment Be Prevented?

 Madison Welker

April 12, 2021

How Can Sexual Assault And Sexual Harassment Be Prevented? 

Because this happens everyday and it seems like almost nothing is done about it.

        Sexual assault and sexual harassment are something that have been around for ages, but it recently came into light with things such as the #MeToo movement and through social media. The sad truth is, there aren’t many ways to prevent it. There are laws to give consequences if sexual assault and harassment happen, but that doesn’t work; there needs to be changes to make women feel safer. 

Sexual assault and sexual harassment as I said before, only started to get introduced and more popular recently due to the #MeToo movement. More women stood up and spoke out against their abusers when they saw it happened to celebrities and people in power as well; which is something they should've done without needing that influence.

        “Women are considered as the symbol of purity and dignity. Therefore, it is such a shame to be the object of sexual violence. It makes women tend to be silent when they are involved in sexual violence,” as stated in, Legal Protection Against Women In Sexual Violence by Absorbi Absorbi, Fitriani Nur Damayanti, Kelik Wardiono, and Sri Rejeki. Most women typically don’t want to speak out about what happened because they don’t want others to view them as worthless; and celebrities don’t want to lose the power they hold as high standards in society. Which is pathetic. Someone shouldn’t be deemed unworthy or powerless because of something that happened to them, especially something they can’t control. The article also mentions that there was no way to create a law to help prevent sexual violence because they don’t know what exactly causes it.

Putting and having laws in place isn’t going to help prevent sexual assault anyway. As stated in the article, Your Role In Preventing Sexual Assault, posted on rainn.org, “The only person responsible for committing sexual assault is a perpetrator, but all of us have the ability to look out for each other’s safety.” This is one way to stop SA (sexual assault) and SH (sexual harassment) from happening; to have someone speak up. If you see something suspicious and know that there’s a way to help, you should.

    In most cases, a man is sexually assaulting or harassing a female, so in this article that’s the basis we are going off of. If a woman is witnessing a man make another woman uncomfortable and she doesn’t go over to help, she is part of the problem. She would be a bystander and, “could witness the circumstances that lead up to these crimes,” (rainn.org). That woman who watched and didn’t say anything might’ve let a perpetrator end up taking advantage of the woman he was bothering. 

Some people may argue that if a woman is sexually harassed or sexually assaulted, and she is intoxicated, it’s all her fault. In fact, the state of Minnesota wants to declare it a law that if someone is intoxicated and raped, it is their fault. The article, Justices: Drunk Rape Victim Was Not ‘Mentally Incapacitated’ by Associated Press, quotes, “The Minnesota Supreme Court has ruled that the person who is sexually assaulted while intoxicated does not fit the designation for a more serious charge if he or she consumed the alcohol or drugs voluntarily.” The article doesn’t state that it is the intoxicated persons fault, but clearly implies that it might as well be. 

    Chances are, that same person that sexually assaulted someone intoxicated would also sexually assault someone who isn’t. I do agree, however, that if the person sexually assaulted did not consent to the alcohol or drugs they were given that there should be a more serious crime; but I don’t believe because someone chose to drink that it should partially be their fault for not staying in a sober mindset. I don’t see there being a law that states if a man got drunk and punched someone, his harassment or assault charges would be lessened because he was intoxicated. It’s just yet another way to pin SA and SH on women. 

    Some people may argue that it’s not every woman that this happens to, and it’s not; but every woman knows how it feels. Joydeep Bose talks about how, “97% of women aged 18-24 in the UK have experienced sexual harassment in public spaces,” from the article, 97% Of Women Aged 18-24 In UK Faced Sexual Harassment, Reveals Survey. SA and SH happen all over the world. If 97% admitted to it happening in a public space, imagine how many females it has affected in a private space. 

    Some might say the results are skewed, may not be right, and aren’t true for all of the places all over the world. They may be right. It was taken in a bad area, but that still doesn’t excuse as to why it happened to that many women. Imagine the children or teenagers that are being sexually abused if that survey was only for early adults. 

    Also, Bose states, “It is to be noted that sexual harassment still is not a criminal offense in the UK, although rape and sexual assault are.” Sexual harassment isn't as bad as sexual assault and I’m not saying it should be a crime, but it quite frankly is just annoying. No girl or woman wants to be walking down the street and get catcalled or harassed. Most cases of sexual harassment lead to some type of sexual assault.

    This world isn’t fair on the serious matters that are occurring, and something needs to be done to change that. People need to respect other's decisions. If a woman wants to go out to a bar and have fun with her friends, she shouldn’t have to worry about her assault being her fault because she chose to drink. Women shouldn’t be afraid to speak out against their offenders and other women shouldn’t be afraid to speak up and help someone out. Sexual assault and harassment happen every day and anywhere. We need to find ways to stop it.