| Violence against women is a major social problem, impacting millions of women and girls in the United States each year. Sexual assault, often called rape, is particularly extensive and devastates the lives of victims in numerous ways, as they experience a range of physical, emotional, and psychological problems. One of the factors recognized by feminist researchers as contributing to the occurrence of sexual assault is the role of all-male settings or subcultures, such as fraternities and men's athletic teams. While extensive research has been conducted on fraternities, the same research has not been applied to athletics, nor has it been examined in the field of Social Work. The overall purpose of this study was to explore the culture of college athletics to better understand the ways in which it may or may not be rape supportive. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods, this study gathered data from male and female student-athletes through three main methods: the distribution of a survey designed to assess attitudes about sexual assault and social change; focus groups conducted with nine selected men's and women's sports teams; and individual interviews held with 22 male and female athletes to explore the ways in which sport culture may or may not contribute to a rape supportive atmosphere. This study also aimed to uncover ways in which members of the student-athlete culture can and already influence the atmosphere in ways that are likely to decrease sexual assault.;Results from this study included support for the notion that certain rape prone contexts exist within the student athlete culture, and that these are sanctioned in subtle yet powerful ways. This study also found that there are student athletes who currently work for social change on issues of violence against women and also that there exists the potential to do more. This information will assist educators in developing more effective intervention efforts, with the ultimate goal of decreasing the incidence of sexual assault. |
