Statistics are bleak regarding sexual assault in sorority, fraternity environment
It is fairly well-known that 1 in 4 to 1 in 5 women on college campuses will be the survivor of an attempted or completed rape by the time she graduates. Less well-known is the fact that 1 in 12 college men will admit to acts that meet the definition of rape as long as the actual word “rape” is not used. They do not consider themselves rapists.
These serial rapists will have an average of six victims. Studies show serial rapists tend to have rigid ideas of gender roles, are hypermasculine and have a desire to dominate women. People who continually get away with rape use minimal force. Instead, they rely on alcohol and coercion. They know a potential target is too intoxicated to consent and use alcohol as a tool.
According to a study, men in fraternities are three times more likely to be rapists than other college men. A study done by A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade at Lehigh University looked at the difference between low-risk and high-risk fraternities. Men in high-risk fraternities are more likely to make sexist jokes, grade women on their looks and overall degrade them, similar to the hypermasculine narrative. High-risk houses typically have dirty women’s bathrooms and discourage brothers from becoming involved in heterosexual, monogamous relationships.
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Members of fraternity houses who were low-risk for sexual assault are more likely to have girlfriends, participate in consent education training, are involved in intramurals as opposed to varsity sports and throw parties where all genders intermingle and treat each other with respect.
The Harvard School of Public Health conducted a study of 119 colleges, finding that “fraternities attract men who drink more than average, and these higher levels of drinking predict perpetration of sexual aggression. Joining a sorority raises the likelihood one will meet more men who drink heavily compared with other student groups, and in this heavier drinking context rape is more likely.”
Women in sororities are nearly four times more likely to experience rape or sexual assault than other college women are. Most sororities ban the use of alcohol within their houses, leaving members who wish to party few options other than fraternities.
“Almost half of the rapes occurred in a fraternity house, and over 50 percent occurred either during a fraternity function or were perpetrated by a fraternity member,” according to the Harvard School of Public Health study.
Being in a group or organization doesn’t cause men to be rapists, but it is the mentality of the group as a whole that might encourage and provide cover for gendered violence. Certainly, not all men in fraternities are rapists. However, when a culture encouraging hypermasculinity and the degradation of women exists, it can provide a space for rapists to hide in plain sight. Even with studies to back up these claims, other writers have gotten threats for speaking out against fraternities and cultures similar to them.
If we can’t even talk about what is happening, nothing will be done.
Jessica Ensley is a senior studying journalism and an active member of F--kRapeCulture. Email her at je726810@ohio.edu.
