vated to commit the crime, 2) the absence of effective guardians or security, and 3) the availability of potential targets (Schwartz, DeKeseredy, Tait, & Alvi, 2001). College campuses in particular fit this description of a location that is ripe for any crime, but is especially conducive to date rape since there any number of potential offenders, available victims, as well as a lack of supervision.
Feminist theories go further in explaining the high incidence of rape on campuses by discussing the motivation of the offenders and the societal "scripts" of the victims. One theory, for example, discusses the influence that all male peer groups have on the members to commit sexual offenses. These groups are legitimate campus organizations where the relationships between the men tend to be patriarchal and "homosocial" and objectify women (Schwartz, et al., 2001). In these all-male organizations, men may get together to watch pornography films, for example and studies show that the more men are exposed to pornography, the more sexually aggressive they tend to be (Milburn, Mather, & Conrad, 2000). Add to this the competitiveness between men when dating women, alcohol and drug consumption that disinhibits behavior, and the discussions between men working on tactics and techniques for "working a yes out" of women in order to have sex with them and the stage is set for the potential offenders to be motivated to commit a rape (Schwartz, et al., 2001).
Another reason that the incidence of date rape is so high on college campuses is the "rape-supportive culture" in our current society. Both Milburn, et al. (2000) and Schwartz, et al. (2001) point to the fact that in our society, silently understood gender roles play an important part in not only objectifying women, but also in invalidating their words and judging their actions. In other words, "the female's resistance to a sexual encounter is not viewed by the male as genuine protest" (...