Communicating/Muting date rape: A co-cultural theoretical analysis of communication factors related to rape culture on a College Campus

Previous studies suggest that college campuses foster a rape culture in which date rape (most commonly, rape of women) is an accepted part of campus activity (Buchwald, Fletcher, & Roth, 1993; Sanday, 2007). In focus groups at a Midwestern university, researchers asked students about rape as they experienced it or knew about it on campus. The study revealed attitudes and perspectives about rape communicated from cultural, social, and individual levels. Co-researchers' comments indicated such attitudes exist in relation to and are expressed through behaviors preceding potential incidences of rape, during rape itself, and in response after rape occurs. Throughout this process, college students, especially females, were muted, potentially contributing to the creation and perpetuation of a campus rape culture.