Rape, sexual assault: two terms that you as a human being may not want to hear. Perhaps it makes you think "Oh, that would never happen to me, I'm safe" or maybe it makes you uncomfortable and brings up painful memories because it has. For those of you that don't know what I'm talking about, allow me to offer proper, legal definitions. The United States Department of Justice defines 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." (Carbon, 2017). Sexual assault, on the other hand, is defined as any "sexual contact or behavior that occurs without explicit consent of the victim." ("Sexual Assault"). Rape is considered sexual assault, but sexual assault does not have to include rape, it can simply involve being touched in an inappropriate way or someone attempting to rape. Now, if you did not know these terms prior to right now or you think that this could never happen to you or that it's not a huge problem (in our country and others), that is an issue and you are, respectfully, wrong. Allow me to properly demonstrate.

In America, on average, someone is sexually assaulted every 73 seconds ("Victims of Sexual Violence"). That's less time than it takes for you to get cozy, turn on your tv, and watch a program that makes you forget about problems like this in our world. Not enough for you to see the problem? Don't worry, I have more: about 1 in 5 women and 1 in 14 men (yes, men are abused too) have experienced sexual assault of some kind in their lives ("National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey"). That is billions of people. Now, I understand wanting to believe that this won't or hasn't happened to you or a loved one, but statistics are not on your side; they also show that most cases are perpetrated by someone you know. A scary study shows that 51% of female cases are perpetrated by intimate partners ("Sexual Violence" 2) and in half of those cases, the woman was victimized multiple times, most commonly over multiple years (Thoennes & Tjaden 39). I myself always want to believe that it hasn't and won't happen to my loved ones, but it has, and it will. I was there the day my best friend came back from spending time with a group of friends after she'd been raped by an older male who supplied them with alcohol. She was sixteen. I was fourteen the first time I was sexually assaulted, by a family friend; the last time was by one of my closest friends who snuck into my bed for weeks when I was seventeen. I was fifteen when my former boyfriend raped me multiple times. More recently, I discovered that my own mother (rest her soul) was molested before she even hit double digits by not one but two of her brothers. As much as you may want to believe the best, chances are the best is not what you're going to find.

In America, there is a serious problem and it's not just sexual assault in general, it's how we address it as a nation. People are not properly informed or trained to deal with these situations, whether they are the victim or those around them. While no one can ever be fully prepared for these things, if people were properly educated, it could possibly help survivors in the long run and increase the likelihood of attackers being prosecuted and charged. I've devised a multi-step plan that could help with this, and with higher rates of incarceration and victims coming forward and sticking with the process, I believe that over time, less people would be victimized.

The first step is the need to inform. Not only on the topic itself, but on the resources available to those that encounter it. Every high school teaches health courses. These health courses need to focus more on sexual assault. Teenagers need to be aware of its legal definition and what laws are in place to help them. They need to be taught how restraining orders work and the difference between them, as well as rape kits. They also need to be aware of what resources are out there to help them after the fact, whether that is to aid in a prosecution, their own mental health, or even proper housing ("Rights and Remedies" 59). The reason I believe it should be taught in high school is because 19.2-43.2% of people who have been sexually assaulted in their lives were first victimized before they were 18 ("National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey"). As I've partially explained above, that includes myself and many of my friends and family. Furthermore, college students between the ages of 18 and 24 are 3-5 times more likely to be assaulted than the average person and should already be aware of these resources and information ("Victims of Sexual Violence").

The second step is proper training for individuals that could encounter sexual assault victims; particularly those involved in medicine or the justice system, but teachers and general workers should also attend mandatory seminars. While many receive training, they often only receive it once, which means in many situations, they fail to meet the necessary needs of the victim (Morabito, Marissa, et al. 46). Everyone should be aware of how they need to act around someone that has experienced this trauma so as not to make it worse. Not only because so many people experience serious mental health problems after the fact – which can also lead to drug use – ("Victims of Sexual Violence") but because one of the biggest reasons victims don't file reports, or don't continue in the process, is because of how they're treated by the system (Morabito, Marissa, et al. 46). Also, those that have a support system (ie, supportive family or friends) are more likely to continue the process and if everyone is well informed on the subject, it may aid in proper support. Juries are also made up of these people and that awareness can aid them in making more informed decisions in sexual assault cases (Morabito et al. 46).

The third, but certainly not final, step is that the police need better/more resources. Of the approximately 23% of reported assaults, only 2% lead to incarcerations ("The Criminal Justice System"). One of the biggest reasons for this is because police have a heavy workload and work on cases with the most evidence and highest safety risk first. This means sexual assault cases get pushed aside, and it's not because they don't matter, it's because the means are simply not available. This makes victims lose faith, or they simply don't want to deal with it being stretched out for months or even years, and so they stop responding (Morabito, Marissa, et al. 46). I believe that moving resources around or adding resources to form a sex crimes division (even a single person) could aid in remedying this. These people would be better trained, have more experience, and could focus specifically on these cases. I also believe that those reporting sexual assault against someone they know should automatically be given a temporary restraining order (TRO). Although about 67% of these are violated (Thoennes & Tjaden 52), these violations lead to more convictions ("Do Protective Orders Work?" 2). Seeing as only about 17% of victims obtain a TRO, if everyone that knew their attacker was given one, it could highly aid in sentencing (Thoennes & Tjaden 52).

Now, I know each of these things comes with their own baggage. When it comes to teaching more sexual assault information in health classes, it could be argued that funding or time wouldn't allow it or that having the information given to boys and girls at the same time could prove to end badly. However, topics can be moved around, fixing the time issue and no extra funding would be needed if it was incorporated into the curriculum. Boys and girls could also be separated for these classes with instructors of the same sex, and if your next argument is room, that can easily be solved by using empty classrooms, gyms, or even going outside. Even if none of these things can be incorporated, if this information was only given in a pamphlet, it would be better than nothing. On the subject of going to tedious seminars, I know this can be annoying and time consuming. I can only speak to your empathy, for yourself and others, when it comes to the tediousness: how would you feel if it was your daughter or your brother? What if they came to you and you had no idea how to deal with it properly because you decided that proposed seminar was too out of your way? Also, seminars could be incorporated into company time, on the premises, so you could possibly still get paid for attending and wouldn't have to go out of your way to get there. Finally, extra funding or moving resources around for the police gets everyone ticked off. I get it, the police already obtain enough money and moving it around could take away from their higher responsibilities. Truly, like I said, even one person working primarily on these cases in better than no one. They would receive the same pay and even if they had to be newly hired, that's only one more wage to pay. Also, if funds were moved around, the police would still be able to do their jobs; if they can still do it with budget cuts, they can manage with rearrangements. Overall, any victim of sexual assault, needs, no, deserves, these resources so that this problem can be tackled better from all angles. Who are you, who am I, to take that away from them? And if it were you on their side of things, how would you feel if nothing could be done simply because people decided a seminar was too tedious or an extra police officer was too much to offer?

Now, I know that getting these things done is far too much for one person. I'm not suggesting that this is an easy fix or that it can be done overnight, I'm only asking that when the time comes for change to happen, that you hop on board. Furthermore, if you can, I'm asking for your help. While I'd like to hope that some corporate big shots would see this and implement everything it says in a way that would work perfectly, I know it won't happen. People have to make others see that change needs to happen: I write this paper, you see it, you fight for change, and that goes up the totem pole. Your job, if you so choose it, is to fight. Write a paper to your local high school, talk to your sheriff, discuss things with your supervisor at work. Hell, apply for these jobs yourself: make pamphlets for teenagers (you can even use the references in this paper), talk to a workshop runner and organize a seminar, become that sexual assault case worker if you have the credentials. If you start to make change, eventually it'll blossom out until more cases are reported, more people are charged, and inevitably, less people are being attacked (or, at least, know the resources to help them through it).