The Dark Figure of Crime - Sexual Assault in America

    Growing up, most women are taught to dress modestly, don’t walk alone in the dark, always carry protection at night. We are groomed to believe that is our job to always protect ourselves because “boys will be boys”. Although when women step up and speak out about their stories many are thought to be faking it. But is sexual assault really this common? To understand and sympathize with these women, we need to understand what is classified as sexual assault, how often it happens and why more women don’t speak out about it. 

In the field of criminal justice there is a term known as “The Dark Figure of Crime”. This term is used for all people who have been a victim of a crime but has not gone to authority about it. This could be many reasons including, fear of not being taken seriously, not thinking their case is severe enough or even just thinking that it isn’t worth their time. This means that many women who experience assault in one way or another contribute to this “Dark Figure” that is always there but never sees justice. 

According to Missing Link Films over 70% of women have admitted to experiencing sexual assault. Although the number is expected to be higher, because in their study only 3% of women have not experienced any of the behaviors they discussed. That means around 97% of women have experienced some form of sexual harassment. These behaviors range from serious events like assault to more minor offenses like catcalling. Despite some of these being less sever, they still troubling to the victim. 

Along with this study, Statistica also applied the research done by Missing Link to visibly show what the women reported as sexual assault. 

 
                    

    In the photo above it shows what percentages of women considered each action to be sexual assault. The actions varied from a man winking at a woman to a pinch on the butt. Despite these being very different things, these women still see it as an attack. 

    These attacks can have lasting effects on the victim's psyche, this is seen when we tell our friends “don't walk alone”, “make sure you hold onto your drink.” As women we are conditioned to look for these red flags, we are taught to fear what could happen. We are brought of from a young age to think this way because for most women it isn't a matter of if it may happen, it is a matter of when.     

    Sadly, many people notice when these actions are happening. Whether it be hearing someone get catcalled on the street, or see a man persistently hit on a woman in a bar after she said no, but many chose to ignore it. This is a frequent problem on social media. With the oversexualization of women on social media not many people question an inappropriate if not threatening comment left on someone's post. In an essay posted to The Journal of Applied Psych the statement is made “To understand silence surrounding sexual harassment, we turn to the literature on social networks. Sexual harassment occurs in the context of a social network in which many actors, including victims, perpetrators, witnesses, and authority figures are interconnected. Social networks are powerful drivers of the beliefs and behaviors of their members.” This quote makes the point that because of social media, many sexual assault cases are being buried or undermined due to the fact that many harassers also use the platforms.  

    

    Unfortunately, many victims, men and women alike are silenced when they try to speak out about their stories. Many of these stories were told in the heat of the #MeToo movement. Women across the country spoke out about their own experiences of sexual assault to let others know they weren’t alone. This movement really shown a light on how common sexual assault was in the United States. Since then, the topic has been perceived as a little less taboo, but it still happens every day.      

                         Despite the progress made by the #MeToo movement, everyday women and men still endure and feel the long-term effects of sexual assault. Although in many cases they are still told their feelings and stories are invalid and not severe enough, because “someone else had it worse.” But even the smallest case of sexual assault can leave lasting trauma to its victim. Sadly, there are still people afraid to speak up about their experiences and they become another victim to The Dark Figure of Crime. To make progress in reducing that number many people have to open their eyes and realize that this is a real problem in America. Almost everyone knows somebody who has a sexual assault story, most people don’t realize how many of their peers also have a story to be told. But the first step to progress is understanding. So next time a comment is made, think, do you want to just stand by and allow them to become another part of the 97% of women who have to experience these traumatic events?