A CROSS-CULTURAL ANALYSIS of CAMPUS RAPE CULTURE

Abstract This honors research thesis is an exploratory analysis of campus rape culture at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA. Through the use of twenty in-depth interviews at each university, the author explores the dynamics that create campus rape culture, such as gender relations, social activities, and gendered living environments. Observations present an interesting array of students' perspectives on the culture in which they live and how this affects their daily academic and social lives. The author's exploration and analysis leads her to the creation of a model in which sexism leads to raunch culture, male domination, and single-sex living environments intermingle to produce campus rape culture. These findings suggest several separate but related avenues in which prevention efforts to end violence against women on college campuses can be employed. The author concludes with her personal and professional recommendations on how to make college campuses a safer environment with a stronger support system for victims of sexual violence.