Sydney Richardson_Final

Rape on the Rise in Arkansas

Rape seems to be on the rise in Arkansas from a trend discovered from 2012 to 2015. It was found that total rape in the state of Arkansas increased from 1,095 rapes to 1,132 rapes comparing the two years.

It should be noted that as the data was gathered, some cities did not report data because it is on a voluntary basis, and therefore those cities were excluded from this data set. Additionally, while there are over 90 colleges in the state of Arkansas, the focus of this data analysis was on major colleges and universities. However, there was an overall increase in the total number of reported rapes amongst major college and university campuses.

Which campus had the leading number of rapes? The University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The University had the leading numbers for both years, almost doubling in number from 2012, a total of 4 rapes, to 2015, a total of 7 rapes. For this particular city though, it was found that for the entire city of Fayetteville however, total number of rapes decreased from 2012 to 2015.

Why is this? Wouldn’t one want to assume that if there was an increase in rapes at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville that there would also be an overall increase in rapes in the city in general? Or is there a bigger issue at hand? Does this rely heavily on the culture that is present on college campuses? Why is rape increasing amongst college campus and the public youth/young adults? Amongst the major colleges listed, 4 out of 7 colleges had a total increase in rape between the two years, 2 of which did not have any reported rapes. It can then be said that from the 5 colleges that did have reported rapes, 4 out of 5 colleges had an increase in the total number rapes between the two years. Further, in 2012 there were 7 reported rapes, and in 2015 there were 18 reported rapes, more than doubling in quantity.

There is clearly a major issue amongst universities. A stance needs to be taken amongst universities and campuses to find a way to better educate and inform the youth about this social issue and why it needs to be addressed. For the University of Arkansas to be the leader in number of rapes for both years is astounding. What is the university doing about this issue? What has the university been doing in the past to handle these issues? Are there currently any programs that are implemented at any of these schools to educate youth about rape?

It also must sadly be asked how many of these college rapes involved underage drinking. This is a common factor that ties into rapes that occur on college campuses, or are reported to college police. Is there a correlation amongst the crime of underage drinking and rapes that can be seen? Obviously that in itself would require specific details to each particular case, but its something that’s worth examining. It is also a large contributor to the current rape culture that exists today, and a common belief that rape is excusable when alcohol is involved (it’s not).

Through examining this data, it can be noted that not all cities at large increased in total rape when a college within the city had an increase in rape, but generally speaking, most colleges had an increase in rape and their corresponding cities that they resided in also had an increase in rape as well.

What can be done about this? Should there be stricter punishments? Are offenders getting off on parole too early? Why has rape continued to be on the rise amongst these years? Are more victims speaking out and coming forward and finally reporting more often then they used to? Are more rapes occurring regardless to people being more courageous and coming forward? Or is it both? Are more rapes occurring, and more people are finally coming forward and taking a stance on the issue? There are so many possibilities and angles to consider when dealing with this social issue. A discussion needs to begin, because it is also such a controversial topic that most people don’t want to talk about.