The Influence Of Sexual Assault

Assaults are a daily occurrence; however, a small portion of these assaults are regarded as sexual assaults. Assault is usually correlated with physical damage that occurs from an assailant attacking an individual with the intent to cause harm. Sexual assaults differ from standard assaults as sexual assault is more intimate and can vary from unwanted touching to a major crime like rape. Sexual assault is of a sexual nature that is non-consensual; therefore, it violates the sexual integrity of an individual. Sexual assault entails that individuals that take part in any sexual action, must have the consent of both parties. This consent, in some instances, can be influenced by alcohol or drugs making it impossible for one or both parties to consent

Many people may not report counts of sexual assaults to police; however, they are seeking relief from consulting organizations. According to the Regina Sexual Assault Centre, concerns of how police investigate sexual assault are directly the result of the consistent underreporting of sexual assaults(Latimer, 2017). Furthermore, the way police handle such delicate cases has come into question. A lack of faith in an authority figure can make is very difficult for victims of sexual assault to report the crime. This lack in faith is reinforced by the unlikelihood of convicting the attacker. If a crime is reported to police it is usually dismissed due to a lack of evidence. Many instances of sexual assault are often labeled as "unfounded" by police, meaning the police disregard the report as hearsay since there was insufficient evidence to convict an attacker(Doolittle, 2017). Usually, the cases labeled unfounded ( after being reviewed by police) found no violation against the law. The Uniform Crime Reporting Survey (UCR) (an overview of sexual assaults compiled by police) does not include cases of unfounded sexual assault as they are either unreliable and create discrepancies regarding reporting(Rotenburg, 2017). 1 in every 5 cases of sexual assault are regarded as unfounded according to the National Policing Data(Doolittle, 2017). With such high

These factors of sexual assault are just some reasons for the underreporting of sexual assault. The problem with these instances is that they are common and make it hard for victims of sexual assault to find relief from the justice system. The underreporting of sexual assault gives assailants a chance to commit the crime again and involve another person. This can be problematic because victims feel that they are the only people subject to victimization. This implies assailants are free to do what they want to without restrain. There are different ways that victims of sexual assault can be enticed to go to the police and report their crimes. Instead of waiting for crime to happen organizations can educate people on sexual assault so that they understand details regarding laws/procedures and ways they can assure that proper consent is given before any sexual action. Universities and colleges have a huge epidemic of sexual assaults, but if prevention methods are taken before the crime is committed one can ultimately reduce sexual