Not everyone can say #MeToo

The underserved victims of sexual violence

Ali Ulin / Asst. Opinion Editor / The USD Vista

Society and policy work together to protect white women from sexual attacks and disregard those who need it most: queer people and people of color. As sexual assault and harassment are some of the most topical issues in politics and on social media today, the lack of research into how to prevent sexual assault in these high-risk, high-vulnerability groups and underrepresented victims is troubling. As there should be no comparison to the severity and effects of these grotesque attacks, there should be no disparity in legal representation, justice served, or recognition.

One of the main battles women, especially women of color, have to fight is to be heard. A study done by Catalyst.org showed that 75 percent of claims filed by white women regarding sexual assault or sexual harassment were filed by prosecutors while only 34 percent of claims filed by black women received the same attention. Similarly, “End Rape On Campus” (EROC), an advocacy group for preventing college sexual violence, conducted a survey showing that attorneys declined to prosecute 67 percent of cases on behalf of Native American women that are victims of sexual violence (and other violent crimes) even though Native Americans have the highest rate of sexual abuse, being twice as likely to be victims as any other race. With these statistics in mind, it becomes clear why 80 percent of all rapes reported are made by white women.

The lack of reports from minority groups speaks to the lack of protection and support provided to these victims and survivors. Only one report for every 15 black women who experience sexual assault is filed though nearly two-thirds of black women are sexually assaulted before they reach the age of 18; likewise, only about one-third of Latina women who experience sexual violence report the crime to the authorities, according to a survey done by the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape. These victims (alongside the majority of victims of color) cannot and should not have to suffer the pain of trial, lack of justice to their assailants, and social or economic consequences of going to trial. 

Additionally, women of color are at higher risk for any form of domestic abuse whether that be sexual, verbal, emotional, or physical from intimate partners than are white women. Nearly half of black women experiencing domestic abuse, with approximately four out of every 10 suffering partner violence according to the National Intimate Partner & Sexual Violence Survey. Often times, these marginalized groups do not have the freedom to report or speak up due to their economic, social, and political disadvantages. The average lifetime cost of necessary health care support for victims of rape is over $122,000, and the average health care rate increases by an average 16 percent for women who were victims of rape as children. Alongside life’s other financial burdens, underprivileged groups, generally people of color, often cannot afford to report instances sexual assault or domestic violence. When someone’s social identity is used against them, it creates an obstacle on the path to bringing these crimes to light or prosecuting his or her abuser.

The LGBTQ+ community is often abandoned by law enforcement and overlooked by politicians and the general public in regard to protection, advocacy, and awareness of their heightened risk to sexual violence. Lesbian and bisexual women are reportedly up to three times more likely to be sexually assaulted than straight women; and gay and bisexual men are up to 15 times more likely to be sexually assaulted than straight men according to a study done by the School of Public Health at Boston University. There is a clear lack of understanding of what same-sex abuse looks like and a disbelief that women can be predators. Couple that lack of understanding with the shame that men experience when they are the victims of what is generally deemed a “women’s issue,” and it becomes easy to understand why the public overlooks sexual assault in the LGBTQ+ community. The highest risk group for sexual violence is transgender people of color, at approximately six times the risk to their white transgender counterparts. Nearly half of all transgender people will experience sexual assault in their lifetime according to a survey done by the Human Rights Campaign.

Seventy-three percent of LGBTQ+ college students experience some form of sexual harassment or sexual abuse, according to EROC. On college campuses, women, especially women of color, and transgender people consistently experience disproportionately high rates of sexual violence. This is not to take away from anyone else that has been affected by sexual violence. Intersectional minority groups, people with more than one marginalized social identity, often have the highest vulnerability and risk to sexual abuse. The Human Rights Campaign studies show that almost half of lesbian women and nearly two-thirds of bisexual women experience sexual abuse from a partner as opposed to one-third of straight women. Additionally, almost one-third of gay men and over one-third of bisexual men experience sexual violence from a partner as opposed to one-fifth of straight men. Forty-seven percent of trans people are victims of sexual abuse in their lifetime; more than half of all LGBTQ+ people of color are victims of hate crimes over the course of their lifetime. With college students already being at the highest risk of sexual assault, minority groups are put in an even more unsafe position on campus.

Every 92 seconds an American is sexually assaulted, leading to more than 320,000 victims of sexual assault per year. Over half of these offenses are committed against people aged 18-34 according to the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network. College students are extremely susceptible to sexual assault, and the most highly affected group within college students are those who are transgender, genderqueer, gender non-conforming (TGNQ), with nearly one in every five TGNQ students being sexually assaulted during their college experience.

Roughly 80 percent of college sexual assault goes unreported; campus sexual assault is a serious issue that is best combated by prevention and awareness education, as has been proven in studies like Aggression and Violent Behavior, and by an extensive review about violence prevention strategies by researchers in the United States’ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. People who are educated on sexual assault or receive sexual assault prevention training  are much less likely to commit sexual assault than those who are not educated or have received no such training. That training can and should be delivered by way of already-mandatory classes that many colleges provide for incoming first years. On a grander scale, the justice system is in dire need of proper representation of minority groups that are highly affected by and vulnerable to sexual violence.

If you or anyone you know ever needs to report sexual abuse or needs support in regard to sexual violence, call the Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network (RAINN, a sexual assault awareness, prevention, and protection non-profit organization) National Sexual Assault Hotline: 1-800-646-4673. On-campus resources also include the Center for Health and Wellness Promotion (call: 1-619-260-4618 or email: chwp@sandiego.edu) and Student Wellness (call: 1-619-260-4655 or email: wellness@sandiego.edu).