Executive Summary
The major goal of every individual must be to make society a better place. There are certain issues prevailing in society that are damaging it from the core. Sexual assault is a major issue prevailing in society. Various aspects are associated with this problem, which needs to be addressed to help the survivors and victims. This paper presents a complete understanding of this topic by highlighting different associated aspects. It effectively presents an analysis through which one can understand what sexual assault means. A proper research methodology is adopted for conducting this Research while considering the ethical aspects. Recommendations were also provided that can assist in adopting preventive measures.
This study aims to understand the topic of sexual assault. A research approach utilising secondary data analysis is utilised, and an analysis and evaluation of associated problem areas were enumerated through this study. This Research also asks specific questions relating to problem areas, and the acquired data generated the answers. Different techniques and tools, and methods were used to jump to possible conclusions. This report also needs to account for ethical considerations relating to Research, and hence the report must provide an appropriate and comprehensive analysis of the problem of sexual assault.
Table of Contents
Discussion and implications of Research. 10
Introduction
Sexual assault can be defined as an activity under which a person sexually and intentionally touches another person without taking proper consent or tries to physically force an individual into engaging in any sexual activity against their will. It can also be termed as a form of sexual violence that includes crimes such as groping, child abuse, rape (forced anal or vaginal, or any sort of oral penetration or a sexual assault facilitated by drugs). It also involves sexually torturing an individual. In general, sexual assault can be termed as an unwanted sexual contract. Sexual assault usually takes many forms, such as attacks, rape or attempted rape, as well as unwanted sexual contracts or threats (Cantor et al., 2019). Usually, a sexual assault occurs when an individual touches any part of another person’s body, even though the clothes, without proper consent. There can be various definitions associated with this.
This Research highlights the circumstances under which sexual assault takes place. It effectively highlights the broader category of sexual assault and the involved acts that can be termed as so. A literature review is presented to help readers understand most of the literature. Apart from it, a proper research methodology is presented that can highlight the procedure involved in this Research. A proper set of recommendations is given at the end to help improve the situation.
Aim
- To conduct a detailed and comprehensive study regarding sexual assault and its presence in society, concerning the problem and its potential solutions along with the importance to address its importance and functionality within the society.
Objectives
- To determine the influence and efficiency of sexual assault laws.
- To evaluate and understand the problems revolving around sexual assault.
- To analyse the impact of preventive measures against sexual assault.
- To recommend appropriate steps through which it can be prevented in future.
Research questions
- What are the crimes involved in sexual assault?
- How can we understand the nature of sexual assault?
- Can sexual assault take place without sustaining visible injuries?
- How can we define the phenomenon of sexual assault?
- What are the different categories of sexual assault?
- What are the favourable implications that can work towards improving this issue?
Literature review
Sexual assault takes place when a person touches someone sexually without having their consent. It can also be defined as someone forcing another individual to participate in sexual activity without their consent. It also includes any sort of sexual touching or unwanted kissing.
Sexual assault effectively refers towards different kinds of sexual violence, and it is the phrase used to describe a sexual activity or any act that has happened without the consent of another. Any sexual assault can be termed a crime and can have an ever-lasting impact on the survivor or the victim. It is evident that no one ever deserves this or asks this to happen, and hundred per cent blame for this must lie with the associated perpetrator or the perpetrators (Edwards & Dardis, 2022).
There are instances when people talk about sexual assault on TV shows or in the news. However, since this is a very broad term, many people are not very sure about its meaning.
The legal definition of sexual assault varies, but the following are the major aspects that define whether a sexual assault has occurred.
- Intentional touching of another individual
- The touching needs to be sexual.
- The other person involved does not give his consent to that touching
- They did not believe reasonable about the consent of another person touching
- This touching can be with any body part or anything else
It may include:
- Kissing.
- Attempt to rape.
- Touching genitals or breasts includes touching through clothes.
- Touching any body parts in a sexual manner or for sexual pleasure, such as rubbing back or stroking their thighs.
- Pressing up for sexual pleasure against another person.
- Manipulating, pressuring, or scaring an individual into performing any sort of sexual activity on the perpetrator.
- Touching an individual’s clothes in case it is done for sexual pleasure or done in a sexual manner, such as lifting an individual’s skirt.
This is not the full list, and hence there are many other acts included in this that are considered sexual assault.
The law also prohibits an individual’s forceful or pressurised engagement in sexual activity intentionally and without their consent.
It may include:
- Influencing an individual to touch themselves or masturbate.
- Making an individual sexually touch or participate in activities related to sex with or without consent.
- Making an individual sexually touched by anyone else or having another individual carry sexual activity along with them, even if consent is involved or not.
As it can be witnessed, the responsible person for the crime is associated with causing any person to engage in non-consensual sexual activity; here, it is not about touching the victim or victims by themselves (Edwards et al., 2019). However, it is a grave offence and can carry a similar sentence as that of assault by penetration or rape.
The tactics used by the perpetrator to cause an individual’s engagement in sexual activity without having their appropriate consent include manipulation, physical force, and threats.
There is also another term used in place of sexual assault, which is ‘indecent assault’. Different other types of sexual violence involve different types of non-consensual touching of any other person sexually. It includes:
- Rape
- Assault via penetration (this is when an individual or group of individuals penetrate the anus or vagina of another Individual with any object or by a part of the body excluding the penis and regardless of consent.)
- Different types of child abuse involving contact
Sometimes in law, these crimes are defined separately. However, it is quite common to describe it all within the segment of sexual assault to highlight any of it. The reason behind this can be the comfort in saying sexual assault rather than calling it a rale (Haskell & Randall, 2019). Or it may be because they are not familiar with the associated legalities of such terms.
Consent is the term that must be appropriately understood to have a clearer understanding of sexual assault. Consenting towards someone touching sexually effectively means to agree and give consent and freedom through which choice can be made.
It does not consent in case you or someone else was:
- Unconscious, asleep, drugged, or drunk.
- Manipulated, tricked, pressurised, forced to say yes.
- Too vulnerable or young to have the capacity and freedom to choose.
Another major thing about consent is that it can be withdrawn at any particular time; this includes the time while doing sex or in the middle of a sexual act (Kash, 2019). Just because an individual has given consent to something before does not mean they consent to do that again.
If an individual is not sure about another person giving sexual consent, they need to check it with them again.
There is a stereotype about rape, sexual assault and other sorts of sexual abuse or violence enduring need the application of physical force or leaving individuals with physical and visible injuries. However, this is not true.
Various tactics can be used by someone to assault an individual sexually. Such as:
- Manipulating
- Pressuring
- Intimidating
- Bullying
- Deception
- Alcohol or drugs
- Threats
But even if none of these had happened, there could still be sexual assault.
Some individuals find it difficult to move when they face up against something scary or are caught in a dangerous situation (Khan et al., 2018). In case this takes place does not mean that the involved person has given their consent. And in case there is no consent, then it will always be a sexual assault.
Sexual assault occurs by anyone, maybe an unknown or someone who is known to the survivor or victim.
Such as:
- Partner
- Ex-partner
- Someone survivor or victim dated in past
- Someone they are currently dating
- Someone they are a bit familiar with
- A colleague
- A friend
- A member of the family
It can be effectively done by an individual belonging to any gender against a person of any gender.
Methodology
To complete this Research, a second approach is considered to find a solution for the problem statements. Research methodology and secondary data are utilised, and a literature review based on sexual assault is presented to convey a proper understanding of the topic. The secondary research approach is convenient because it takes less time and is also cost-efficient compared to the primary research approach. Hence the second approach is selected by keeping time and money constraints in mind (Lapsey, Campbell, & Plumlee, 2022). The primary importance of secondary Research is that it highly assists the researcher in acquiring multiple spectrums associated with the problem and provides remedial measures against it. The availability of empirical data assists in having a good comparison between the prevailing works of literature through which the best possible outcomes can be derived.
A thorough analysis of the literature has been extracted through different sources such as:
- Peer-reviewed articles
- Books written by renowned authors in this field
- Magazines
- Materials that are available for use freely
- Publications
- Scholarly journals
After finalising the suggested methods for conducting the Research, the next step is regarding the resources required to complete the study. It is vital to segregate the collected data because every piece of information collected is not important regarding the study. Relevant techniques and tools must be placed at the disposal for the effective segregation of data into irrelevant and important. After successfully isolating data into relevant and irrelevant data, a standard format is devised for storing the data.
The associated investigator can effectively utilise any formatting and filing procedure; all it needs to do is simply avoid the error associated with omission or exclusion. The discretion associated with the researcher must be utilised to understand the data and its nature. The universe of secondary Research is expansive. It involves huge stockpiles, and at times, it is possible that within the cluster of data, there is information that is misleading or false within the collected cluster. Appropriate care must be taken to eliminate such useless information from the Research. It may hamper the results of the Research, and it may lead towards a wrong conclusion. Ultimately the study will not satisfy its rightful purpose, and if it gets published, it might inhibit other studies.
After completing the data collection activity and duly filing and segregating it, the next step for the researcher is to perform an analytical and systematic checking associated with the collected data. The procedure involved in checking and cross-referencing is very tedious, but it is also a vital task (Malamuth, Huppin, & Linz, 2018). There must be a thorough scan of the data as the available data is in high clusters, and there are chances of replication and duplication. It is vital to avoid data in the form of mixed permutations, and the associated flow of the information needs to be in perfect synergy.
There must be a thorough review of data at regular and specific intervals to ascertain that the results are symmetrical along with the posed questions. There will be times when certain inconsistencies will prevail in the data; in such cases, definitive and quantified steps must be taken (Muldoon et al., 2021). The concluding stage involves an analysis of the entire data. To answer the research questions, there needs to be a descriptive approach.
Discussion and implications of Research
An interpretive approach is adopted for starting an investigation. The collected data is extracted through a secondary source. The results in this Research are obtained through interpretation from various relevant sources, which have been gathered for this study. A detailed investigation is used for the quantitative data.
Research opinion
An exploratory design is suitable for research purposes. The design will assist the researcher in acquiring appropriate insight into every situation. To do the research design success, the utilised data needs to be rough, vague and open-ended. The researcher must collect and obtain smaller samples to receive maximum insight regarding this. The researcher needs to utilise every day and non-quantitative approaches. Apart from this, there should also be cautious recommendations.
The researcher will utilise an inductive research approach to evaluate and discuss sexual assault issues in society properly (Orchowski et al., 2018). The inductive inference approach will ultimately be utilised to accumulate the unproved outcomes. The researcher needs to have a proper evaluation and implications of the value and communication gaps prevailing in society. The major reason behind selecting this approach is to generate unproven conclusions accumulated through inductive interference. The prevailing inductive research approach will assist the researcher in discerning the research framework.
The questions associated with the research assists in making an appropriate evaluation of society and its impact on the problem. After answering all the involved questions using the necessary information, pieces of evidence can be collected, and steps can be initiated to restore effective communication regarding the sexual assault problem (Santelli et al., 2018). All the posed questions are subjected towards comprehensive solutions, and the problem areas are highlighted in each issue. The answers collected will effectively act as a catalysing factor through which communication patterns can be comprehended regarding the employees and managers.
The associated Research will also provide comprehensive answers that effectively determine the role of social awareness in curing any sort of sexual assault taking place in society (Wood et al., 2022). A detailed evaluation of the problem, along with its success throughout the organisation of the world, needs to be inferred. The increasing backlashes and awareness against sexual assault will be analysed effectively in variable lights. It is vital to draw out a critical review, and the suggestions shall be derived to gain the optimum knowledge regarding the same.
Ethical consideration
Ethics is very important. The researcher needs to account for and consider the aspects of ethics involved with participants. The researcher must maintain dignity along with the participants. All the entities involved in Research have the right to anonymity and longevity (Siefkes-Andrew & Alexopoulos, 2019). The researcher must state the purpose and aim of the study to the participants. There must be transparent communication with participants, and the researcher must not mislead or deceive the involved participants.
The researcher must take written consent from the participants before the research and investigation initiation to avoid any discrepancies in future. The researcher needs to prevent any personal bias or preference that he/she has, as it can potentially hamper the reliability and integrity of the research study. The participants need to be available voluntarily, and they must not be under any influence. Use of any primary information and data must be strictly avoided (Szekeres, Shuman, & Saguy, 2020). The material of the Research must exclude any sort of data that is discriminatory or offensive. Proper references need to be utilised to publish the associated results. There must be no role conflict between the researcher and the participants. The researcher must comply and adhere to all the laws, the code of conduct, and ethical considerations.
Recommendations
Awareness means that sexual assault will not be tolerated. It means the more we know about it, the better preventive approach we can take. The following are certain recommendations against sexual assault:
- Be quick to react
- Do not tolerate any sort of inappropriate touch
- Never allow a breach of privacy
- Notice forces intimidation
- Take survivors for counselling
- Examine the behaviour of others
- Teach children about their rights
- Know what child abuse means
- Understand the signs
- Educate yourself and others about available remedies
Conclusion
This research proposal intends to solve issues associated with sexual assault. It effectively highlights the phenomenon involving sexual assault and presents an appropriate view of its potential causes. It also defines consent and its importance. There are different aspects of sexual assault, and each is effectively covered in the paper. Relevant papers were analysed to present a literature review that can assist in understanding the gist of the literature.
A proper secondary approach is utilised to solve the issues concerning sexual assault, and appropriate evaluation and analysis have been performed to extract desired results. To attain the purpose, necessary actions and tools were used. By utilising an appropriate research methodology, the purpose of this study has been fulfilled. The ethical considerations were also accounted for to avoid any sort of discrepancies while conducting the Research. A proper timeline for the Research is drawn as it is imperative to complete it within the given timeframe. All the aspects of the research proposal have been accounted for, presenting this Research effectively.
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