Violence Against Women

Fraternal membership, intercollegiate athletic participation, and sex composition of living arrangements were investigated as possible correlates of sexual coercion. Four hundred seventy-seven male undergraduates enrolled in a large southeastern university were surveyed in classroom settings regarding their experiences with sexual aggression and coercion, as well as their self-reported rape proclivity. Fraternity members displayed significantly more use of intoxicants in obtaining sex, and also more use of nonphysical verbal coercion, but no greater use of physical force, than independents (nonfraternity members). Athletes displayed greater rape proclivity, but no greater coercive/aggressive sexual behavior. Sex composition of living arrangements had no significant effect on rape proclivity or sexual victimization. The results are discussed in light of other recent evidence indicting fraternities for their sexual conduct.

A rich theoretical and ethnographic literature exists suggesting that fraternity men are particularly prone to be sexual victimizers of women on college campuses. Yet, there is thin empirical evidence for this contention. Here, in a sample from a large midwestern university, there was strong evidence uncovered that male peer support for victimization of women exists, and that it is related to extensive alcohol use. However, there is no evidence that fraternity men are different on these factors from other men. A conclusion is that anti-rape efforts must be broader than only targeting fraternities, and that alcohol education must be a high priority.

This article examines the relationship between collegiate athletic participation and reported violence against women at Division I institutions. The research is based on the records of 10 judicial affairs offices over a 3-year period from 1991 through 1993. The findings indicate an over-representation of male student-athletes in reports of violence against women (battering and sexual assault). In total, 20 cases of battering and 69 cases of sexual assault are examined. The findings are statistically significant (from p ≤ .05).

This commentary discusses the papers in a special issue that addresses the contribution of athletic participation and fraternity membership to the prediction of date rape on campus. The commentary focuses on issues that make it difficult to weigh the available evidence, including methodological and conceptual problems, and concludes that the field is currently unable to answer definitively whether athletes and fraternity members, compared to other men, are more sexually aggressive in general, at some locations but not others, or are similar in overall rates of sexual aggression but favor different forms of coercive sexuality. It is suggested that future research address the relative contribution of individual determinants, self-selection into social groups, and features of the environment and culture created by and reciprocally influencing athletes and fraternity members. Such studies are a high priority because of the important practical significance of their findings on shaping prevention programs for date rape on campus.

Using the concepts of rape-free and rape-prone societies, I suggest that the next step for rape research is to investigate rape-free campus environments. Based on the articles in this volume and ethnographic research, I summarize what is known about rape-prone campus cultures and compare this information with rape-free fraternity cultures. The question of variation is also examined by comparing the rape incidence and prevalence rates averaged by campus using the data of Koss's national study of 32 campuses. The question of the criteria by which campuses might be labeled rape-free or rape-prone is raised.