Historically, the word "rape" has transfigured from meaning to act in haste, to meaning to seizing someone else's property violently, to meaning sexual intercourse occurring without the consent of one of the people involved, primarily using force or deception (Oxford English Dictionary, 1989). This most current meaning creates a picture of a stranger lurking in the bushes on a dark night, breaking into a house, or kidnapping a victim in a car to take them someplace else to rape, and possibly kill. While these types of attacks are very real, they are only a part of the entire picture of rape. According to one study by the National Center for the Prevention and Control of Rape, 92 percent of adolescent rape victims were acquainted with their attackers. Other studies estimate that at least 50 to 75 percent of all rapes are committed by someone that the victim knew. Those women who do experience date or acquaintance rape are usually between the ages of 15 and 25, with occurrences having been mentioned by girls as young as eight years old and reports reaching exceedingly high numbers on college campuses and growing every year (Morrissey, 1996). This apparent epidemic of rape in the school system in general and on college campuses in particular has created a range of reactions. These reactions sweep from organizing educational sources and counseling groups for students and victims, to new resources being developed for counselors on how to counsel in this area, to a knee-jerk back lash movement that points out that "bad sex" does not always mean rape. This paper will explore the date rape phenomenon as it pertains to college campuses as well as the various responses and how this may affect clinical practice.
In 1979, Cohen and Felson put forth the Routine Activities Theory which discusses how the amount and the location of any crime are affected, if not caused, by three factors: 1) the presence of potential offenders who are moti...