Alcohol Sexual Assault

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Current Research

Explanation for the Influence of Alcohol Consumption and Sexual Assault

Alcohol consumption across college campuses is very prevalent, and this can increase the occurrence of sexual assaults due to a variety of factors. One reason is that alcohol leads to an increase in aggression. A study was conducted where 54 males and 60 females from ages 18-30 competed in an aggression paradigm sober or intoxicated. What they found was that intoxicated men were more aggressive than their peers, and for women alcohol was not a determining factor on their level of aggression (Hoaken, 2000). Alcohol consumption also impairs with ones ability to interpret someone’s sexual interests. After drinking, men usually feel powerful and sexually …show more content…

If rate of alcohol consumption hasn’t increased along with sexual assaults, then alcohol cannot be a considered factor. A study done by The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism pointed out that sexual assault and alcohol consumption do usually happen together, alcohol cannot be said to be causing sexual assault. In some instances someone may drink alcohol in order to justify their actions (Zwacki et al., 2001). The issue with alcohol intoxication and memory loss is also widely present when it comes to sexual assaults. If someone is under the influence how can they possibly accurately remember what occurred? When an individual “blackouts” you lose your ability to form short term memories. However, a study conducted in 2015 examined how the influence of alcohol can impair someone ability to recall a sexual assault scenario. They examined 20 female participants, and what they found was that intoxicated participants reported less information compared to their sober counterparts, but the accuracy of the information did not vary. Alcohol should is still a factor in sexual assaults on college campuses, but there are other factors that need to be examined when looking into these cases (Flowe, Takarangi, Humphries, & Wright, …show more content…

College campuses need to foster a community where victims of sexual assault can feel comfortable to confide in someone on the situation in order to report it. It can be hard for a victim to report sexual assault because most likely the perpetrator was someone they knew. Many victims do not want to be seen as a victim, which discourages them from reporting as well. When a victim reports a sexual assault, almost always nothing happens to the perpetrator. College campuses need to work on revising their sexual assault policies in order to make the victim feel safe and ensure that the appropriate action will be