With the rise of new fashion trends such as crop tops, fishnet tights and high-waisted pants come new dress code rules. While most schools have rules and regulations on what students are able to wear to school, some rules can seem as if they are being put in place for the male benefit rather than to protect the female population of students.

Many schools promote the idea that a dress code is put in place to decrease the number of distractions in the classroom. However, some think the idea of a dress code directly promotes a “rape culture”, and that having a dress code does not affect a student’s ability to pay attention in class.

According to the Oxford Dictionaries, rape culture is, “a society or environment whose prevailing social attitudes have the effect of normalizing or trivializing sexual assault and abuse.” A large number of people believe that a dress code normalizes sexual assault by teaching young girls to hide their bodies to prevent assault, rather than teaching students the horrifying nature of sexual assault and possible consequences of assaulting others.

A statistic from Rainn.org shows that there are about 321,500 victims of rape and sexual assault each year in the United States. A high number such as this one leads people to feel very alarmed and concerned, ultimately asking themselves the question of, “How can sexual violence be stopped?”.

While there is no way for sexual violence to be put to a complete halt, there are steps that can be taken to prevent someone from harassing or assaulting others.

Giving convicted sexual predators more harsh punishments is one step that can be taken. Brock Turner was convicted of three counts of sexual assault, including rape. Turner only served half of his six-month sentence in jail and was released for good behavior.

The dress code put on students, especially girls, can be outrageous and varies on the school. While most school officials claim these dress codes are placed to decrease the issue of sexual harassment, there are better ways to prevent these heinous acts other than putting limits on a young girl’s ability to express herself.