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Dakota Theuner

UWRT 1104

April 6, 2017

The Blurred Line: Rape or a Mistake?

It has been two years since Sarah and Jaylen became friends freshman year. During

this time, they have gotten closer and both have developed deeper feelings for each other.

Sarah and Jason are two friends who both have known each other for a while and have feelings

for each other. Neither one of them have expressed these feelings, nor their mutual wish to move

forward into a relationship.They both want to be in a relationship, but havent talked about it.

Like most Friday nights in a college town, a party was being thrown and Sarah invited Jaylen, a

common thing for them. Sarah heard about a party Friday night and asked Jason to come out

with her. After aA few hours in to the party, both Sarah and Jason Jaylen are extremely

intoxicated and they end up having sex are drunk and they have sex, without ever

communicating their feelings, consent, or intentions. The outcome of this event night is

unknown, and but could have multiplethere are multiple possibilities endings. Either party

could claim rape immediately afterwards or later on, potential problems could arise in the

future, they both could be completely fine with the incident, or they might never talk to

each other again. This story is told too frequently by too many people. It seems to be that

rape, among other sexual assaults, is an increasingly popular topic in society today. More

people are coming forward about their experiences, yet so many remain quiet. Many stay
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silent because they feel hopeless about their case since only six out of every 1,000 rapists

end up in prisons. This being said, often times there are different accounts of what actually

happened.

When people are under the influence of drugs or alcohol, events can get muddled

oftentimes, decisions can be made that we didnt want, that we dont remember, or that we

wanted while sober but dont remember doing while not. Because of this muddled blurred

line, the idea of consent becomes blurreduncertain. If two people decide to have sex while

drunk, can one claim rape the day after? If two people decide to have sex while sober but

get drunk, can they still claim rape?

This paper will touch on factors associated with sexual assault, reasons behind these acts,

outcomes, statistics, definitions, and solutions. The absence of a Not having a mutual

understanding of terms used when talking aboutassociated with sexual assault is usually

where a big problem arises. Sexual assault and sexual violence are synonymous, collective

terms that describes all unwanted or forceful, physical acts. Laws and definitions vary state

to state, but are gender neutral laws. North Carolina doesnt have a legal definition of what

consent is. A broad definition of consent is voluntary, positive agreement between

participants to engage in specific sexual activity (Women's Center. Northwestern

University). As well as states having different definitions, the United States government can

have official ones as well. The United States Department of Justice provided an inclusive,

gender neutral explanation when they defined rape as the penetration, no matter how slight,

of the vagina or anus with any body part or object, or oral penetration by a sex organ of

another person, without the consent of the victim (An Updated Definition of Rape. The

United States Department of Justice).

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There has been documented evidence of different cases and statistics of sexual assault. In

America, another person will become a victim of sexual assault every ninety-eight seconds. In

her lifetime, one out of six women will be a victim of rape, both including attempted and

completed rape. College students, especially women, are among those most affected by sexual

assault. Sexual violence is experienced, in some form, by 11.2 percent of college students.

Women ages 18-24, have the highest chance of being a victim of sexual assault. Those two

facts together show how serious this matter is in a collegiate setting. Sexual violence is

experienced in some form by 11.2 percent of college students.Considering these are published

statistics, its amazing that many rapists wont experience serious consequences, like

imprisonment. Only six out of every 1,000 rapists will end up in prison for their crimes. This

statistic alone makes a big statement. Approximately only 40 percent of rapes end up being

reported to the authorities. Many victims dont even consider reporting their case stay silent

because they feel hopeless about their case since only sixso hopeless about a positive outcome. A

victim of sexual assault is a victim all the same, however there is another type that some may be

completely oblivious to. This type consists of individuals who have been falsely accused of

committing a sexually violent crime. While only two percent of all sex related charges end up

being false, these victims are men more times than not. Such fake claims may be made out of

regret, fear of promiscuity labels, for attention or revenge. Whatever the reason, these actions

further add to societal rape culture. The question remains: why are these criminals not being

properly reprimanded? out of every 1,000 rapists end up in prisons.

Many sexual assault and rape cases are centered around college campuses and

students. Most of the biggest cases have happened at universities. Recently, in October

2015, an incident regarding Nikki Yovino and two football players was released to the
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public. Nikki claimed that the two football players raped her in the basement at a party

while drunk. The case was investigated and after revoking the boys scholarships, they

withdrew from Sacred Heart University. A few months later, in February, Yovino released

another statement saying the acts were consensual and she lied about it to avoid losing a

friend and potential boyfriend. As a consequence, Yovino was charged with tampering with

physical evidence and second degree false reporting, and will have to serve time in jail.

Avery important, more well-known case that is very important, is the Stanford Rape Case, or

the People vs Turner case. An intoxicated Stanford University student and athlete, raped an

even more intoxicated, unconscious girl behind a dumpster outside a fraternity house. Once

said girl regained her consciousness in the hospital, she had to go through a series of tests

and was confused about the previous nights events because she had blacked out. She heard

about her own story on the news and decided to press charges on Brock Turner for assault

with intent to commit rape of an intoxicated or unconscious person, sexual penetration of

an intoxicated person and sexual penetration of an unconscious person

(stanforddaily.com). During the trial, Turners attorney turned all of the blame to the

victim, using her memory loss as nd an excuse for her not remembering giving consent.

Turners consequences for his actions were six months in county jail, registering as aed

lifetime sex offender, and three years of probation, which sparked outrage among the

public. More attention was brought to the case when the victim published a response letter

to Brock Turner. Her letter described the night and overall incident with significant detail

and brought awareness to Americas rape culture and justice system. Joe Biden was

impacted by the letter and wrote his own response to her letter admiring her for her

courage.
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Both of the aforementioned cases help fuel existing stereotypes. When talking about

college sexual assault, there are a few things that people tend to think of first. They might think

about what happens at fraternity parties with rude frat boys and drunk sorority girls. They think

about strong, cocky athletes who dont suffer consequences. Athletes and members of Greek life

have always been considered high-risk to commit sexual assault. This is typically thought

because people associate recklessness, drunkenness, aggressiveness, and privilege with the two

parties. These stereotypes have the same effect as the stigmas that surround sexual violence

and rape: they both make people act and think with closed minds. Our American culture

places too heavy a stigma on sex in general. Whereas men seem to be praised for promiscuous

behavior, females are viewed in a negative way for the slightest thing deemed unacceptable.

Wearing provocative clothing, having a majority of male friends, or having more than one

partner, can instantly cause some to decrease a womans worth. Stigmas on sexual assault add to

the already negative attitude.Stigmas tied to sexual assault are all negative. It is common to

hear people victim blaming, which strongly reflects our rape culture. Victim blaming is

finding reasons to blameplacing all responsibility on the assaulted victim for being the

actionsassaulted, s, such as saying they shouldnt have worn that, or been there, or done

that.. Another similarity stigma is associating weakness or promiscuity with the victim if

they report their case. Having such stereotypes and stigmas so strongly connected tied to

sexual assault make it difficult for some people talk open up about the topic. As mentioned

before, many women wont speak up about their experience due to their apprehensive outlook on

the case. There are other reasons, of course, like potential memory loss during, fear of family and

public reaction, and the added It also adds stresss to victims. Feeling like youre not able to
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talk about an incident can increase the risk for depression, post-traumatic stress disorder,

and even suicide.

When considering those targeted by sexual assault, people generally go straight for

the female demographic. While this is true, especially on college campuses, minorities as

whole seem to be targeted. Groups like the LGBTQ community, certain races, and women,

can experience sexual violence as a hate crime. Men can also be victims of sexual assault

and that is commonly not thought of. Its been reported that ten percent of men are

victims of rape (RAINN.org). When these acts are committed as a form of hate, the

negative side effects caused by stigmas and stereotypes can be increased even more.

Acknowledging the stigmas while thinking about how they were singled out based on an

uncontrollable factor can significantly increase the feelings of depression in a person. Men

especially are told by society that they cant come out with their stories because it emits

signs of weakness and strips away their masculinity. As far as how gender roles are ultimately

valued in our society, losing masculinity would heavily impact most men.

Due to the fact that sexual assault has become more of a discussed topic, resources

are now available to help individuals. On most college campuses resources are present like

Title IX offices, Campus SaVE, counseling centers. Other resources are also websites,

hotlines, and campaigns. Title IX and Campus SaVE are programs dedicated to eliminating

sexual violence, and promoting sexual equality on college campuses. For people that have

experienced sexual assault, they can use the other resources mentioned. They can confide in

certified counselors in the counseling center, or if they prefer to remain anonymous, they

can turn to the other mentioned resources. There are websites like RAINN.org, cardv.org,
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and victimsofcreime.org to learn basic information about sexual assault. Hotlines exist for

those who feel the need to communicate with someone anonymously in a time of emergency.

Its interesting to see how the general public reacts to situations and incidents

regarding sexual violence or rape. Depending on the audience, the variety of responses

received is thought provoking. Overall, you would find that a pretty unanimous consensus

that its bad and shouldnt happen, but however all of these opinions tend to be followed by

a but. When discussing the same event of sexual violence with a nineteen year male and a

nineteen year old female, you will most likely have two different conversations. To prove

this, I interviewed three nineteen year old males and females that live on UNC Charlottes

campus.. When asked their definition of rape and consent, all six people had the same

answers. RRape was defined as any physical, forceful activity that was not asked for. One

of the students interviewed, Andrew, provided a very specific definition of rape. He said rape is

expressed, assertive physical activity where penetration of the mouth, vagina, or anus occurs in

an unwanted, forceful manner. This response lead to discussion amongst the students, where the

inclusion of anus in the definition was acknowledged. This prompted Julia to add guys can

get raped too, by men and women, which is important for a gender neutral definition. Everyone

They defined consent as verbal permission while completely sober. Although the

definitions all matched up, boys thought about their definitions longer. When asked about

potential situations that questioned rape and consent, the conversation really began. The When

proposed the scenario was A guy and girl always flirt with each other but have never done

anything sexually. They both go out to a party and are drunk by the end of the night. They

have sex and in the morning the girl says that she did not give consent and accuses him of

raping her. Is this rape?, Tthe guys and girls had slightly different answers. Emily answered
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immediately, only saying yes, and was supported by Julia and a more hesitant Jala. After

listening to the girls all answer, Jared shook his head while saying it depends. Andrew spoke

up again mentioning how it was a grey area and could be perceived differently, if this wasnt

discussed at all beforehand, and they were both intoxicated, how is it fair of her to claim rape and

not him?The girls all said yes, that is rape. However, the boys all hesitated and said the situation

was a grey area. They said that it isnt fair for the girl to claim rape, if the boy was just as drunk

as she was. They were given other situations and scenarios and their answers began to show

a pattern. I found it interesting that the boys were more likely to point out the grey areas in

situations. Also interesting was how the girls contradicted themselves by saying the first

scenario was rape. The definition of rape given by them specified unwanted, forceful physical

activity. The scenario never mentioned forceful activity between the two. This lead them toThey

see aw how easily meanings and concepts becomeconsent may be defined as one thing, but how

it becomes muddled in when put into real life situations. Overall, the females were either on

one side of the other. Once they were told a scenario, they usually made up their mind and

wouldnt change. The boys explained their reasoning more and took slightly longer to respond.

The part that causes the most confusion when discussing sexual assault and rape, comes

from the fluidity of the definition of terms like rape and consent. Its conflicting to see how

posted legal definitions dont necessarily uphold realistically. The line between rape and an

irresponsible decision can easily be blurred. Often times rehashing incidents can turn into a

he-said-she-said interaction, causing more problems. This can be seen when you refer back

to the Stanford Rape Case. In a follow up trial, the defendant recited a new story in which his

actions seem proper. According to the second story, a request for permission was directly

verbalized for every action, which is considered proper, however, her being unconscious and
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behind the dumpster wasnt included because that would ultimately prove his actions improper.

In a written response to the new story, the female victim mocked him by writing the following,

then he asked if he could finger me and I said yes. Most guys dont ask Can I finger you?

Usually theres a natural progression of things, unfolding consensually, not a Q and A. This

stands out because it questions consent. She is actively trying to prove that his new story is false,

by saying directly asking permission is unnatural. But, isnt that the whole meaning of

consent?

Most people have lost the concept of respect; finding it is an important key in making our

society better. Another way to better our society would be to work to decrease the occurrence

of any type of sexual violence. Education is key. The public needs to be more informed and

better educated. In this specific case, consent was not given or even requested, but it helps prove

how unstable the definitions can be in an instance where they should be the strongest. Ensuring

a basic understanding of the meanings behind consent, rape, and sexual violence should become

a priority in order to make a more informed society. Also, alerting younger people about the

how, when, where, and why associated with sexual assault would increase general

awareness. Continuing to conceal cases regarding aspects of sexual assault from the public

eye, will be detrimental to sexual assault awareness. With more information, individuals

would be able to intervene or help another person in this type of situation. The part that

causes the most confusion when discussing sexual assault and rape, comes from the fluidity of

the definition of terms like rape and consent. Its conflicting to see how posted legal definitions

dont necessarily uphold realistically. The line between rape and an irresponsible decision can

easily be blurred. Often times rehashing incidents can turn into a he-said-she-said interaction

which can cause more problems. Referring back to the Stanford Rape Case, the female victim
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wrote then he asked if he could finger me and I said yes. Most guys dont ask Can I finger

you? Usually theres a natural progression of thing, unfolding consensually, not a Q and A. This

stands out because it questions consent. She is making a point about how he says he asked her

for permission in his second story, but how the story is false. She is making a point that either

way consent wasnt given. In this instance, asking for direct permission is unnatural.

In order to better our society, work needs to be done to decrease the occurrence of any

type of sexual violence. People need to be better educated and informed about it. Alerting

younger people about the how, when, where, and why associated with sexual assault could help

them become more aware. With more information, they could be able to intervene or help

another person in this type of situation. Most people have lost the concept of respect and finding

that is an important key in making our society better.

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Works Cited

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Siegel, Robert, Smith Tovia, Brooks Tess, and Snyder Maddie. "Harvard Survey Highlights
Attitudes About Campus Sexual Assault." NPR. NPR, 19 Dec. 2016. Web. 16 Mar. 2017.