Over 50 Percent Of Male Athletes Admit To Sexual Coercion | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Politics

Over 50 Percent Of Male Athletes Admit To Sexual Coercion

Shocking new statistics reinforce Brock Turner's ideology.

13
Over 50 Percent Of Male Athletes Admit To Sexual Coercion

Chances are, if you're a college-aged female, you're petrified for your safety because of the recent Brock Turner case. You know that the justice system can and will fail you. You know that you can be raped behind a dumpster while unconscious and your rapist can be unanimously convicted of three felony accounts, but the judge will only give him half of the minimum sentence of one felony. If you're anything like me, you've tried to convince yourself that you are safe because very few men would take advantage of a woman like that. You would be wrong.

In a recent Violence Against Women journal, a study was released that uncovered the severity of today's rape culture with shocking statistics. This article, written by Gabrielle Noone, exposed the horrifying data in detail, including bone-chilling quotes. We need to talk about it.

The article begins addressing Brock Turner's demographic: male, collegiate athletes. More than half of a popular southeastern Division I school's male intercollegiate athletes admitted to pressuring a partner into sex, some even admitting that they used threats to coerce their partner into sexual acts. I can only imagine that this lack of respect and sexual aggression will be augmented by Brock Turner's laughable sentence. What do they have to lose if it isn't threatened in the first place?

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard my school's administration refer to our athletes as "role models" for our student body. Well, their wish has come true. It seems as if the rest of male college students are following the ideology that is clearly present in athletes. The study reported that 38 percent of college-aged males who don't participate in intercollegiate or recreational athletics will knowingly coerce a female into sex. When presented with remarks such as, "If a woman doesn't fight back, it isn't rape," many of the men agreed. They also agreed with statements such as, "Women should worry less about their rights and more about becoming good wives and mothers," reinforcing antiquated and sexist gender roles and devaluing women's rights. I guess good wives will never say "no" to sex in the first place, so they don't have to worry about their sexual rights?

I am enraged by rape culture. So many adults have recently told me that college is the last time in my life to be free and that I should party and cut loose. It is heartbreaking to hear those same people blame the victims of sexual assault because they were drinking. What if it was me? What if it was your daughter? Your sister? You? I believe that the statistics presented here speak volumes. Sober men believe and will admit that it is okay to take advantage of a woman. You don't have to be a #free-the-titties feminist to realize that the way women's rights are valued in today's society needs to change, and fast.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
ross geller
YouTube

As college students, we are all familiar with the horror show that is course registration week. Whether you are an incoming freshman or selecting classes for your last semester, I am certain that you can relate to how traumatic this can be.

1. When course schedules are released and you have a conflict between two required classes.

Bonus points if it is more than two.

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

12 Things I Learned my Freshmen Year of College

When your capability of "adulting" is put to the test

2693
friends

Whether you're commuting or dorming, your first year of college is a huge adjustment. The transition from living with parents to being on my own was an experience I couldn't have even imagined- both a good and a bad thing. Here's a personal archive of a few of the things I learned after going away for the first time.

Keep Reading...Show less
Featured

Economic Benefits of Higher Wages

Nobody deserves to be living in poverty.

301839
Illistrated image of people crowded with banners to support a cause
StableDiffusion

Raising the minimum wage to a livable wage would not only benefit workers and their families, it would also have positive impacts on the economy and society. Studies have shown that by increasing the minimum wage, poverty and inequality can be reduced by enabling workers to meet their basic needs and reducing income disparities.

I come from a low-income family. A family, like many others in the United States, which has lived paycheck to paycheck. My family and other families in my community have been trying to make ends meet by living on the minimum wage. We are proof that it doesn't work.

Keep Reading...Show less
blank paper
Allena Tapia

As an English Major in college, I have a lot of writing and especially creative writing pieces that I work on throughout the semester and sometimes, I'll find it hard to get the motivation to type a few pages and the thought process that goes behind it. These are eleven thoughts that I have as a writer while writing my stories.

Keep Reading...Show less
April Ludgate

Every college student knows and understands the struggle of forcing themselves to continue to care about school. Between the piles of homework, the hours of studying and the painfully long lectures, the desire to dropout is something that is constantly weighing on each and every one of us, but the glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel helps to keep us motivated. While we are somehow managing to stay enrolled and (semi) alert, that does not mean that our inner-demons aren't telling us otherwise, and who is better to explain inner-demons than the beloved April Ludgate herself? Because of her dark-spirit and lack of filter, April has successfully been able to describe the emotional roller-coaster that is college on at least 13 different occasions and here they are.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments