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Sexual Assault in Romantic Relationships

Isabella Riano

Saint Leo University

PSY 343: Close Relationships

Jeanne Lancaster

April 5th, 2022

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Collage Link

Below is a pdf of the collage:

https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/track?uri=urn%3Aaaid%3Ascds%3AUS%3A72f0dc13-eca8-

4bd2-ad56-af47282b9cdd&viewer%21megaVerb=group-discover
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Sexual Assault Awareness

Considering April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it is essential to raise awareness

of many stigmas that come with survivors of sexual violence in romantic relationships. The teal

ribbon is the official symbol of raising awareness of sexual assault (Brown, 2016), as shown in

one of the collage pictures. According to Regan (2011), sexual attitudes explain people's views

on sex regarding relationships with other partners, birth control, and the importance of having

sex often. Therefore, it is essential for partners to set boundaries in their relationship and to

respect each other's boundaries. For example, someone may score high in the community sexual

attitude, which describes people who see sex as an ideological component every relationship

needs. However, their partner may score low on that and not consider sex as crucial in a

relationship. In that case, they must respect their boundaries and have a sexual relationship with

them only when they feel comfortable. The image of one person drawing a circle and another

being inside that circle shows the importance of having good communication regarding sex in

romantic relationships.

The Legal Definition

Furthermore, the Supreme Court of Canada refined the judicial lexicon to explain that

consent is not always obvious (Gorman, 2019). By legal definition, sexual assault is only a

violation if the other person does not consent. Thus, several people with sexual assault charges

claim they did not do anything legally or morally unacceptable because the other person agreed

to have sex with them. However, people can misinterpret consent because of many different

reasons. One of the main reasons is that the person does not verbally say they did not consent to

the abuser. However, a lack of consent does not have to be expressed through words; people can

also show it with their attitude and nonverbal language. For example, a person may have verbally
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said they gave consent because of coercion, but with their body language, it is easy to tell they

feel uncomfortable and do not give support. In the men's rea stage of the sexual assault case, the

Court determines whether the person consented.

Stigmas Around Sexual Assault

Regarding sexual assault in romantic relationships, there may be a stigma that nobody

can sexually assault their partner because passion is one of the main elements of romantic love

(Regan, 2011). However, even if two people are dating, if one does not consent to their partner to

have sex with them and their partner still does, they are a survivor of sexual assault. If both

partners respect boundaries regarding sex, the relationship is healthy, but if one does not, there is

sexual assault. The photo of a woman covering her ears and looking scared depicts that even if

she may be with her partner and verbally agreed to have sex with him, her body language shows

she is uncomfortable. Her partner does not respect her boundaries. Therefore, she is a survivor of

sexual assault in her relationship.

Additionally, according to (Ralston, 2012), there is a stigma that men cannot experience

sexual assault. Moreover, in 1995, Waldner-Haugrud and Magruder found that most Americans

consider it acceptable for women to coerce men sexually. Therefore, sexual assault in males is

adequate for many people because they think that having sex is something all men do. The

collage picture that shows a man with mean words on his face written in Spanish, such as "ugly"

and "deficient," shows how much society usually ridicules men if they speak up about sexual

assault. To expand on that, several people often victim-blame male survivors because of stigmas.

In the case of men, the victim-blamers could say that they gave consent because males are

always looking for "a way to have fun,", especially in a romantic relationship. Therefore, the
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picture of a man with multiple fingers pointing at him shows all the judgment survivors of sexual

assault could receive because of stigmas.

Conclusion

The legal definition of sexual assault does not specify that it only happens to a specific

race, gender, or group. It also does not mention that partners cannot assault the person they are

dating sexually. Therefore, the inclusivity of both genders in the collage shows that sexual

assault can happen to anyone. If society victim-blames the survivor, they will be scared like the

victims in the picture of the collage. However, if we set boundaries and raise awareness on the

topic with symbols such as the teal ribbon, everyone will be happier, like the two people in the

circle. Sexual assault can be a challenging topic due to all the stigmas and victim-blaming

arguments. However, raising awareness for people to learn about boundaries and avoid victim-

blaming survivors is essential.

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References

Brown, D. (2016, April 6). Cumbee Center raises awareness of sexual assault with teal

ribbons. Aiken Standard (SC).

Gorman, Wayne K. 2019. "Refining the Judicial Lexicon: The Supreme Court of Canada Refines

the Defences of Consent and Mistaken Belief in Consent." Court Review 55 (3): 116–19.

https://search-ebscoho

Ralston, K. M. (2012). An Intersectional Approach to Understanding Stigma Associated with

Male Sexual Assault Victimization. Sociology Compass, 6(4), 283–292. https://doi-

org.saintleo.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2011.00456.x

Regan, P. C. (2011). Close relationships. Routledge. Print ISBN# 9780415877992 E-book

ISBN# 9781136851612