The Greek System: How Gender Inequality and Class Privilege Perpetuate Rape Culture

Abstract

Abstract Sexual assault on college campuses is a pervasive public health issue. It is important to examine factors particular to universities that influence occurrences of sexual assault and people's perceptions of sexual assault. Using a lens of socialist feminism, we argue that institutional and sociocultural factors related to gender and class privilege on college campuses are due to patterns of power and control in university systems that contribute to the occurrence and facilitation of sexual assault. Our synthesis of the literature focuses on the male‐dominated party culture of the primarily White Greek system in American universities, which is reinforced by the university as an institution. We discuss how patterns of power and control dictate and influence contemporary campus norms in relation to gender and class, which then perpetuate sexual assault. We provide recommendations for policies and procedures regarding class and gender inequities in the scope of sexual violence on college campuses.

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