Documentation:
Do university athletics contribute to less safety on campus?
McCray, Kristy L. "Intercollegiate Athletes And Sexual Violence." Trauma, Violence & Abuse 16.4 (2015): 438-443. Academic Search Complete. Web. 3 Mar. 2016.
Exploration:
Violence against women by male student-athlete is examined throughout this article. Until the 1990s, there was nothing about student-athlete violence against women. According to Melnick, five possible reasons for these incidents include male bonding, masculine-proving nature of sport, combative sports and violence, justice system for athletes, and "big man on campus" belief. Five suggested reforms include eliminating athlete specific living areas, eliminating sexist talk in sports area, greater punishment, educating athletes in preventing rape, and reforming the male sporting experience. Studies throughout the past two decades were conducted with valuable results. In a 1993 study, student athletes represented 22.6% of sexual assaulters and 11.09% of violent perpetrators, while representing less than 2% of the male student body. In a 1996 study of judicial affairs throughout 3 years with a small sample size, male student athletes were overrepresented as perpetrators of battering and sexual assault (35% of perpetrators were athletes while athletes were only 3% of student body). This information is countered by the fact that most rapes go unreported to police so police reports are not a representative sample. Crosset in 1999 believed that there needs to be a more structural focus of changing university athletics, instead of relying on individual responses. In 2007, a moderate effect between participation in athletics and hypermasculinity was found. Smaller correlations were discovered between sports participation and sexual aggression and accepting the rape myth. Programs that have been put in place include athlete-specific rape education/prevention, empathy-based prevention, and bystander intervention. There have been many current incidents of sexual violence, many of which have no charges filed because of media attention. There were eleven huge cited incidents in this source between 2010 and 2012 of sexual violence from athletes. There is still wonder on if student athletes commit more sexual violence than regular students. Study of this topic must continue in the future and the ideas are plentiful. The development of new institutionalism allows for researchers to look more specifically at incidents to see if the values reflect the institutions they are associated with (sports teams, athletic departments, universities). Feminist institutionalism shows gender to be vital in studying power and institutions and it puts power as the central focus.
This source really brought to light the sexual violence to women that occurs relating to student athletes. I found it interesting that this source did not overall say that there is a direct correlation to more sexual violence in student athletes. I used to think that there was a correlation but now I am going to have to dig deeper into this topic to see if there are any other studies. I liked how this article was able to present me with all of the past information on this subject. I still think I was most influenced by the studies stating that a large number of sexual assault perpetrators were athletes, despite their small representation in the student body. Even though many of these incidents go unreported, it seems just as likely that athletes were not reported as well. But maybe because they are more high profile, the victim feels the need to say something to try to make the issue aware. Or it could be that because of the popularity, the victim would not want to say anything and risk too much unwanted attention. The actual percentage of sexual violence from athletes can only be speculated according to the source. All of the reasons for these incidents and reforms against these incidents seem legitimate and I believe them to be true and practical. The mention of recent large-scale incidents by athletes awoke me greatly to this issue and makes me believe that it is a serious problem. There is a possibility that the sexual violence culture is way more of a societal problem than just an athletic problem, and I believe it should be addressed as one. This source did not necessarily answer my research question because it included the whole spectrum which brought up opposing points occasionally. It proved to me that campus are unsafe but it did not show that athletes were the huge problem. One thing to think about is the effect of the media coverage on one's university. That most definitely negatively impacts the university, but how detrimental is it. Also there is currently a University of Tennessee situation relating to sexual violence which shows that this topic is very evident involving big sports teams. Overall, this source made me more aware of the possibility of athletic influence on rates of sexual violence on a university campus.
Source 2 mentioned that the label of student-athlete is perceived negatively resulting in a barrier. This negative perception of student-athletes could relate to sexual violence from student athletes. Because of media attention on incidents relating athletes, the public sees them as menacing, intimidating people who they should be afraid of. This would cause a barrier and would make athletes less comfortable around campus and in the classroom. This isolation that athletes feel could partially prompt the inexcusable choice to do not permitted sexual activities with someone. It is possible that the combination of the preexisting negative perception and large media coverage of sexual violence athletic incidents would case a vicious snowball effect, with athletes constantly seen in a bad light.
I now have many more questions including "Is there an actual correlation between athletes and a higher rate of sexual violence incidents?" Also I need to further researching into my question,
"Do university athletics contribute to less safety on campus?" I also need to look into the discussion of the well-being and stress of athletes from the combination sports and school. Currently, I can see that some of the public thinks that athletic success translates to academic success but that really only translates to public relations. I also see that black athletes are hindered in a college environment. Also I know that it can be argued that student-athletes contribute to more sexual violence incidents than other students. Right now it seems like overall, athletics do not benefit schools that much besides the huge money factor. I think looking into current scandals relating to campus life of sports teams could be beneficial to my research.
No comments:
Post a Comment