2008 Woodie Awards
Studies regarding date rape and sexual assult on campuses nationwide
Issue date: 12/10/03 Section: News
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* According to a study by Mary Koss published in 1988, 1 in 4 college women had been victims of rape, and almost 90% of them knew their assailants.
* Out of this same study, only 27% of the women identified themselves as rape victims.
* The prime dating age, 16 to 24, is also the age at which the risk of rape is four times higher than for any other population group (Warshaw, 1988).
* A woman, especially between the ages of 16 to 24, has a 4 times greater chance of being raped by someone she knows than by a stranger (Warshaw, 1988).
* Although 1 in 12 college-age men admitted having fulfilled the prevailing definition of rape or attempted rape, virtually none of these men identified themselves as rapists (Warshaw, 1988).
* 60% of male college students "indicated some likelihood of raping or using force in certain circumstances." (Predicting Self-Reported Likelihood of Sexually Abusive Behavior: Attitudinal vs. Sexual Explanations, Briere and Malamuth, Journal of Research in Personality, 17, 1983, in Dating Violence, Ed. Barrie Levy, Seatte, WA: Seal Press, 1991).
* Alcohol was consumed by either the victim or the perpetrator, or both, in 75% of campus sexual assaults. This only accounts, however, were for the reported assaults. The percentage may actually be higher. (Sexual Assault on Campus: The Problem and the Solution, Carol Bohmer and Andrea Parrot, NY: MacMillan, 1993).
* In 1995, a study was done at the UW-Madison Campus. Out of 616 women sampled, 2.9% admitted they experienced at least one incident of intercourse or oral sex against their will during the 1994-1995 academic year. 12.1% of the seniors said that while attending the UW-Madison Campus, they had experienced at least one incident of intercourse or oral sex against their will. (Laurel Crown, 1995).
* 55% of the men who admitted to committing sexual assault on a date reported being under the influence of alcohol to some degree. 53% of the women who had been victimized reported being under the influence of alcohol when the assault occurred. ("Date Rape & Sexual Aggression in Dating Situations: Incidence and Risk Factors," Charlene L. Muelenhard and Melanie A. Linton, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol.34, No.2, 1987).
* From a sample of sorority women, 24% had experienced an attempted rape, 17% were victims of a completed rape. Almost half of these rapes and attempted rapes were perpetrated in a fraternity house ("Sexual Victimization among Sorority Women: Exploring the Link between Sexual Violence and Institutional Practices," Stacey Copenhaver and Elizabeth Grauerholz, Sex Roles, Vol.24, Nos.1, 2, 1991).
* Men in fraternities appear to engage in more non-physical coercion and use of drugs and alcohol as a sexual strategy than did "independents," or those not belonging to a fraternity ("Social Contexts and Social Learning in Sexual Coercion and Aggression: Assessing the Contribution of Fraternity Membership," Scot Boeringer, et al., Family Relations, Jan. 1991).
* Out of this same study, only 27% of the women identified themselves as rape victims.
* The prime dating age, 16 to 24, is also the age at which the risk of rape is four times higher than for any other population group (Warshaw, 1988).
* A woman, especially between the ages of 16 to 24, has a 4 times greater chance of being raped by someone she knows than by a stranger (Warshaw, 1988).
* Although 1 in 12 college-age men admitted having fulfilled the prevailing definition of rape or attempted rape, virtually none of these men identified themselves as rapists (Warshaw, 1988).
* 60% of male college students "indicated some likelihood of raping or using force in certain circumstances." (Predicting Self-Reported Likelihood of Sexually Abusive Behavior: Attitudinal vs. Sexual Explanations, Briere and Malamuth, Journal of Research in Personality, 17, 1983, in Dating Violence, Ed. Barrie Levy, Seatte, WA: Seal Press, 1991).
* Alcohol was consumed by either the victim or the perpetrator, or both, in 75% of campus sexual assaults. This only accounts, however, were for the reported assaults. The percentage may actually be higher. (Sexual Assault on Campus: The Problem and the Solution, Carol Bohmer and Andrea Parrot, NY: MacMillan, 1993).
* In 1995, a study was done at the UW-Madison Campus. Out of 616 women sampled, 2.9% admitted they experienced at least one incident of intercourse or oral sex against their will during the 1994-1995 academic year. 12.1% of the seniors said that while attending the UW-Madison Campus, they had experienced at least one incident of intercourse or oral sex against their will. (Laurel Crown, 1995).
* 55% of the men who admitted to committing sexual assault on a date reported being under the influence of alcohol to some degree. 53% of the women who had been victimized reported being under the influence of alcohol when the assault occurred. ("Date Rape & Sexual Aggression in Dating Situations: Incidence and Risk Factors," Charlene L. Muelenhard and Melanie A. Linton, Journal of Counseling Psychology, Vol.34, No.2, 1987).
* From a sample of sorority women, 24% had experienced an attempted rape, 17% were victims of a completed rape. Almost half of these rapes and attempted rapes were perpetrated in a fraternity house ("Sexual Victimization among Sorority Women: Exploring the Link between Sexual Violence and Institutional Practices," Stacey Copenhaver and Elizabeth Grauerholz, Sex Roles, Vol.24, Nos.1, 2, 1991).
* Men in fraternities appear to engage in more non-physical coercion and use of drugs and alcohol as a sexual strategy than did "independents," or those not belonging to a fraternity ("Social Contexts and Social Learning in Sexual Coercion and Aggression: Assessing the Contribution of Fraternity Membership," Scot Boeringer, et al., Family Relations, Jan. 1991).