Writing about Rape Culture

Sexual harassment is widespread in all spheres, be it civil service, or education. This topic is often touched upon by journalists, psychologists, sociologists, and lawyers. It’s no wonder that nowadays, professors assign papers on this topic so often. In this article, we will provide you with useful information and helpful advice on how to write a quality research paper or essay on rape culture issues.

Research paper topics on sexual assault on college campus

Here are some of the rape culture and victimology research topics to consider:

• Research paper on “Campus sexual assault”
• Campus sexual assault research paper: who are usually the victims?
• Research paper on sexual assault on college campuses in the US
• The issue of victim-blaming
• The portrait of victim of college sexual assault research paper
• Sexual abuse research paper
• Research paper on sexual harassment on campus
• College athletes and sexual assault research paper
• Sexual assault in the military schools research paper

What is sexual harassment?

Doing a research for a sexual assault research paper or essay, you need to understand that the definition of harassment is versatile in civilized countries. This is not only sexual harassment itself are also jokes, anecdotes, hints, indecent touches, and other actions unacceptable for a person. Each citizen has the right to expect certain behavior standards at work and in educational institutions, which should not include sexually-oriented behavior.

How to recognize sexual harassment?

The main characteristic of sexual assault is the undesirability of increased attention. Even flowers, love letters, phone calls, compliments, and songs can be considered harassment if they are undesirable.

Sexual harassment is presented when:

• There are indecent offers, the requirements for ‘sexual services,’ and other verbal or physical acts of a sexual nature put forward as conditions for hiring, receiving good marks at the university, etc.
• The forced consent or rejection of such proposals becomes decisive for success in labor or scientific sphere.
• The purpose or result of such actions is to affect the productivity of work or create an intimidating, hostile, or insulting situation at the workplace.

The main types of harassment are:

• Verbal: sexual insinuations, hints, insults, threats, jokes about gender characteristics, sexual suggestions.
• Nonverbal: ambiguous glances, offensive or indecent sounds, whistling, obscene gestures.
• Physical: touching, tingling, stroking, coercion to intercourse, or attempt of rape.

The history of sexual harassment in the United States for essay, research paper, or persuasive speech on rape culture

• This problem has deep roots in the United States, especially for American women of African descent. The article written by a black nurse in 1912 tells how an owner of the restaurant where she worked as a chef tried to kiss her right on the first day. The rape of black females by white men in slavery was a common thing.
• In the 50-60s, single mother in South Carolina wrote that her boss at the weaving factory provided the women with the best equipment if they agreed to have an intimate relationship with him. When she refused, she was fired and complained to the workshop manager. The boss hired her for another shift because he was afraid that the case would be divulged.
• In 1986, the first major case in the Supreme Court stated that creating a hostile environment at work is a violation of the law prohibiting discrimination on the gender basis. However, attention was rather focused on the ‘undesirability’ of courtship for the victim than on the violent behavior of the offender. The aforementioned proceedings were initiated in 1978 and completed in 1991.
• The process of social change through the judicial system is not rapid. Until 1991, women could receive compensation only for lost wages, but nothing more.
• In 1991, in another judicial decision, it was confirmed that the standard for determining a sufficiently impermissible behavior should be based on the opinion of the victim, not the offender. The court stated that many women have common fears that male counterparts may not share. The fact is that phrase considered as a compliment by a man can be perceived as sexual harassment by a woman. That is why the emphasis should be placed on what females may classify as an insulting action.

The reasons for harassment to describe in a rape culture research paper

A good research paper should reveal not only the problems of the rape culture phenomenon but also its causes:

• Violence and male self-perception. Sometimes, toxic masculinity promoted in some cultures shapes men’s attitude towards women. Unfortunately, violence against women exists on all levels – educational, domestic, and workplace. Studies in the United States indicate that one out of every 10 women will be raped or sexually assaulted during her life, while more than half of all women will experience battery or similar incident of domestic violence from their partners.
• The economics of women’s work. The number of working women has been rising since 50-60s’, which brought surprisingly negative consequences. Some males resented women as professionals, while others strived to establish domination by harassing female workers.
• Discrimination as a form of workplace control. A big number of women are simply afraid to lose their jobs, being a part of a vulnerable population. Some male workers can use harassment as a form of control over such women.

Statistical information for a sexual harassment research paper

Working on a research paper on sexual abuse or harassment, you should rely not only on abstract reflections but also on specific figures and facts. The information below should come in handy.

• According to the ILO (International Labor Organization), between 15 and 20% of working women in industrialized countries are victims of rapists’ attacks, but only a third of such complaints are submitted to the court. The ILO reports that each second Danish, third Austrian, and fourth French woman faces serious cases of sexual harassment.
• A study conducted by the Tanzanian Media Women’s Association showed that 90% of female citizens of Tanzania consider sexual harassment a threat to their jobs and economic situation. About 80% said that having no alternative, they were forced to obey the demands of superiors when asked for sexual favors.
• Female employees of the Daewoo factory in St. Louis, Mexico, being the majority of the workforce, claimed that they all became victims of sexual harassment committed by the president and directors. Female workers received money in exchange for intimate services and were threatened with dismissal in case of a refusal. This situation at the Mexico factory is very similar to other reports from zones of export production where rape culture is widespread.
• A public opinion poll conducted in 1996 showed that 30% of respondents considered sexual abuse to be a contrived problem. Each second female employee believed that this is a serious obstacle for a relatively small number of women. A quarter thought that the rape culture is a disease of modern society. Almost three-quarters of women who became the victims of harassment by superiors at various times were of the opinion that such situations are very common. However, this view was expressed only by 37% of women who have never experienced sexual abuse. In other words, women give very subjective assessments of the phenomenon in question, relying on their personal experience.
• Most college victims are assaulted by someone they know. 42% of college women who are raped tell no one about the assault. It is estimated that only 5% of sexual assaults on college campuses are reported, making sexual assault the most underreported crime. Rape results in about 32,000 pregnancies each year. All the above-mentioned statistics is indeed shocking. That’s why it’s so important to cover the facts about sexual assault on college campuses and at workplaces in academic papers.
• Unmarried women are very likely to become the victims of harassment from managers, while young widows, single mothers, and divorcees are more protected.
• Less than 20% of respondents submitted reports to the management, 30% were afraid that it would harm them, and 24% did not want to create problems for the offender. Only 3% made an attempt to complain. Most women felt that they would not be believed and did not want to seem scandalous in the eyes of surrounding people.

How to write a quality sexual harassment research paper?

Writing a good sexual violence research paper takes a lot of time, skills, and knowledge. Let us tell you what you need to know to submit an A+ work without taking too much time to write it.

Formulate a plan before you start writing a research paper

It is very important to know what you are going to cover in the paper before you start writing. For this, you have to create a sexual abuse research paper outline. It will not take a lot of time. It is enough just to open a new Word document and write down the ideas you want to discuss in strict order.

In the most minimalistic form, your research paper should have 3 major sections:

1. Introduction. The first part should provide some background information on the topic. Additionally, you will need to make a hook sentence and strong thesis statement in this section.
2. Main part. Here, you will have to conduct a literature review, presenting facts and statistics from renowned professionals of sociological filed. Next, you will need to present evidence to support the ideas formulated in thesis statement. Apart from the lit review, the body of your paper will likely include a methodology, results, and discussion sections.
3. Conclusion. Write this section only after you have finished and carefully reviewed the main part. A conclusion should restate the purpose of the research and cover the most important points you have made in the body, without adding anything new to them. You may finish the paper by mentioning the significance of your findings and the ways they can be used by other researchers.

Bibliography

Refer to the ideas you have found in literature and statistical sources and cite such sources properly. This will show that you have done your research

Correction of mistakes

How many times did you type the word ‘form’ instead of ‘from?’ This is just one out of hundreds of mistakes that may be missed during editing. Your grammar should be perfect, so make sure you have made a clear and understandable sentence structure, and all the text has no typos and grammatical errors.

Good title in a sexual assault research paper

It is unlikely that someone will spend a lot of time reading your paper if it does not have a memorable title. Choose it at the very end when you already coped with writing and editing. Your title must be formulated in a way that it immediately demonstrates the essence of your work. Make sure that it includes the keywords used in the text and, preferably, does not run for more than one line.

Deadline

There is no need to remind you about the deadlines, but, in any case, it’s important. Even if you wrote the best research paper on sexual assault but submitted it after the needed date, your chances of receiving a good mark will be pretty low. Do not leave everything for the last days. You should start writing a research paper in advance and leave yourself enough time to edit and analyze the work.

What about rape culture essay?

Even though this article was mainly concentrated on research papers, we want to say a few words about essay writing. Essays on rape is also quite a common task for students, which, however, requires presenting more personal opinion than a research paper.

Types of essay

There are several types of essay you can work on:

• persuasive essay on rape culture
• comparative essay on rape culture
• argumentative essay on rape culture
• reflective essay on rape culture

Essay outline

Let’s review the structure of this type of work, which is usually the same for all kinds of essays:

• Introduction with hook phrase and thesis statement.
• Body, which usually consists of 3-5 paragraphs with arguments and facts.
• Conclusion with a restated thesis and final sentence, which calls for further reflection.

Sexual harassment essay writing tips

As this type of writing requires a lot of time and skills, we have decided to make your life easier and give you some useful advice to follow:

• Do not be afraid to be creative. Essays give you a lot of creative freedom, so spend some time making your paper really outstanding.
• Never skip the outlining stage. A well-detailed plan will help you to organize all your great ideas and keep your writing clear.
• Keep your writing unique. Avoid copying someone’s ideas, as any copy-pasted phrases can be easily checked in specific plagiarism detection programs. If you find some interesting ideas, rewrite them in your own word and cite them properly.
• Be precise. Some credible shocking statistics on sexual harassment topics will make your paper even more credible and convincing.

If you struggle to start the essay writing process, you may search for some decent rape culture essay example on the Web. Maybe some student’s paper will inspire you to work on your own.

Characteristics of the ideal essay

While professors may have their own requirements for essay writing, there are certain things that each one of them can agree on:

• It goes without saying that your work should demonstrate not only profound knowledge but also a clear understanding of the topic. Therefore, it is necessary to support the main idea with a large number of arguments and theses from credible sources and build your argumentation based on them.
• Flawless English. Sentences must be logically constructed and understandable at the first glance. The main thing is to maintain the logical connection between the paragraphs and the transitions from one fact to the other. And, of course, grammar should be perfect.
• Proper formatting. There are various styles of formatting you may need to stick to. So, before you start working on your essay, clarify what style is required in your case and follow all the guidelines, as formatting may cost you anywhere from 10 to 25% of the grade.

Good topics to cover in a rape culture essay

• Sexual assault on college campuses essay
• Essay on sexual harassment laws
• Males as victims of sexual assault essay
• Sexual abuse in family essay
• Sexual harassment in the workplace essay
• Essay on college rape culture and women abuse essay
• Preventing harassment in the workplace essay
• Essay on international rape culture
• Essay on rape culture in the country of choice
• Why is rape culture so prevalent on college campuses essay

We hope that these recommendations will help you write an impressive academic paper. Good luck!