On February 19, 2016, Supreme Court Judge Shirley Kornreich ruled that Kesha Rose Sebert, better known by her former stage name Ke$ha, could not break her contract with producer Dr. Luke, who Kesha alleges drugged and raped her half a decade ago. Furthermore, Daily News writer Shaun King posted an extensive article earlier this week detailing an alleged sexual assault incident involving Broncos Quarterback and Super Bowl 50 Champion Peyton Manning.

Sexual assault has always been a pressing issue and movements like Slutwalk have grown exponentially and continue to gain increasing media attention. As the conversation on sexual assault continues, it is important to address several misconceptions about the nature of sexual assault in America.

1. Only Women Experience Sexual Violence

Discourse on sexual violence often assumes that only women can experience sexual violence, leaving out male victims who often face the same feelings of isolation, depression, and anxiety following their assault. Although current statistics state that only 10 percent of rape victims are male, professionals agree that male sexual assault cases are historically underreported and the actual number is likely much higher.

The belief that only women experience sexual violence not only invalidates the experiences of male victims, but it also makes male victims less likely to report these crimes, creating a vicious cycle. The idea that men can't be raped also ties into toxic masculinity and it needlessly creates the binary of females as the "victim" and males as the "perpetrator."

Furthermore, this idea has created a huge disparity between the number of studies that have been done on sexual violence towards women and those done on violence towards men. Without extensive statistical research on the occurrences of sexual violence towards men, effective discussions on how to mitigate the situation can not arise.

2. College Campuses And Universities Are The Main Hotbeds Of Sexual Violence

While it is true that universities do have a 6.1 per 1000 rate of sexual assault for women, those who do not attend higher education have a rate that is 30 percent higher. Women who don't attend higher education often haveing lower incomes and don't have access to resources that can help them. While it is good that public awareness of sexual assault continues to increase, choosing to focus on victims from higher income levels completely erases another sexual assault epidemic happening in America.

Those without money often lose their voice in society and, in order to truly acknowledge and correct the full extent of sexual assault in this nation, our focus must shift to include all victims, regardless of their income or educational level.

Furthermore, similar to male sexual assault victims, there are virtually no studies on low-income victims, meaning that efforts to mitigate the situation are practically non-existent.

3. Sexual Assault Means Penetration

Often times, sexual assault is used interchangeably with the word rape. However, the United States Department of Justice changed the definition of sexual assault in 2012 to be much broader, stating, "Sexual assault is any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient."

The previous definition of sexual assault was, "the carnal knowledge of a female, forcibly and against her will." This definition not only was over 80 years old, but it also didn't take into account male victims or forced oral sex. This left many victims unable to prosecute their assaulters to the full extent of the law.

The association of sexual assault only with penetrative sex not only invalidates many victims' experiences, but also perpetuates the idea of proving that a victim's assault was "good enough" to qualify as a crime. Instead of attempting to categorize sexual assault by the act itself, defining sexual assault by the presence of consent or lack thereof eliminates the need to justify the validity of the victim's experience.

As society becomes more cognizant of the issue of sexual assault, we must ensure that all efforts to alleviate the situation include all victims and help to fight harmful stereotypes. Sexual crimes are disgusting and they reveal the absolute worst that our society has to offer.

The sad truth is, however, that sexual assault doesn't happen in some unknown underbelly of American society. Just this past week we've seen the allegations towards Peyton Manning and Kesha's fight for freedom, but these aren't isolated events. People like Woody Allen, David Bowie, and Bryan Singer have been accused of sexual assault and haven't faced any real repercussions for it. I'm not advocating for a "guilty-until-proven-innocent" approach to such matters, but I do believe that each accusation should be taken 100 percent seriously, regardless of the accused's status in society.

The vast majority of American society believes that sexual violence is abhorrent, but in order to truly bring justice to all victims, we must change how we look at such crimes.