NCJ Number
176614
Date Published
1998
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study analyzed the group and organizational practices and conditions that create in college fraternities an abusive social context for women.
Abstract
A conceptual framework was developed from an initial case study of an alleged gang rape at Florida State University that involved four fraternity men and an 18-year-old co-ed. The group rape occurred on the third floor of a fraternity house and ended with the "dumping" of the woman in the hallway of a neighboring fraternity house. When the victim was found, she was comatose and had suffered multiple scratches and abrasions; her blood-alcohol concentration was .349 percent, more than three times the legal limit for automobile driving and nearly a lethal amount. One police officer reported that sexual intercourse occurred during the time the victim was unconscious. This study analyzed newspaper articles on the case and conducted open-ended interviews with a variety of respondents about the case and about fraternities, rapes, alcohol use, gender relations, and sexual activities on campus. In general, the research shows that the organization and membership of fraternities contribute strongly to coercive and often violent sex. Practices associated with the social construction of fraternity brotherhood emphasize a macho conception of men and masculinity; a narrow, stereotyped conception of women and femininity; and the treatment of women as commodities. Other practices that contribute to coercive sexual relations and the cover-up of rapes include excessive alcohol use, competitiveness, and normative support for deviance and secrecy. The study concludes that fraternity norms and practices influence members to view the sexual coercion of women as a sport or a game, with women as nothing more than objects and props in the game. 49 references