If you think Football Saturdays only have violence on the field, think again! A recent study shows an association between football game days and higher instances of sexual assault on college campuses, especially during home games. Home games increase rates of reported rapes by 41%, while away games increase rates of reported rape by 15%. Either way, sexual violence is happening, but why?
Too easily, we absolve ourselves of responsibility by blaming individuals for increased drinking on and around game days, but that represents a limited focus. There is a larger, cultural phenomenon at work. Campus organizations and local businesses host tailgates and parties all weekend long before, during, and after games. At D1 schools, tailgating is especially prevalent in football culture. For many students, home game tailgates are pre-games in a familiar space that enable them to binge drink before the actual sporting event, contributing to more instances of reported rape during home games than away games¹.
Partying and drinking are often factors in reported perpetration. Alcohol is directly connected to increased aggression and decreased cognitive function, which we can safely assume contribute to increased perpetration in party settings. Alcohol can also fully or partially incapacitate victims. So, alcohol can bring perpetrators and partially incapacitated party-goers into one space. Schools that have a reputation as “party schools” show an even larger increase in reported instances of rape on game days, drawing a stronger link between game-day partying and perpetration².
Lindo, Siminski, and Swensen link college football games to increased perpetration by arguing that upset wins lead to increased reported rapes². This finding starkly challenges earlier studies suggesting that upset losses lead to increased reports of domestic and sexual violence. Focusing on emotions following an upset loss minimizes the prevalence of perpetration, whereas Lindo, Siminski, and Swensen show that sexual violence happens even in celebratory moments. So, campuses and the surrounding communities must prioritize safety regardless of a game’s outcome.
Our drinking norms that create environments conducive to perpetration are also tied to economic factors during college football season. Universities and local businesses benefit monetarily as increased drinking leads to more earnings at bars, restaurants, and concession stands. Given that binge drinking contributes to increased perpetration, these profits create safety concerns for everyone.
People can often get drinks at tailgates without showing any form of ID, increasing underage college students’ access to alcohol. The party culture and increased drinking that surround game days contributes to increased instances of perpetration, a link established by the findings previously mentioned. Universities assert they want to decrease perpetration altogether.
That commitment begins with supporting a cultural shift that redirects personal responsibility arguments that get weaponized against survivors of sexual assault to solutions that create safer environments and hold perpetrators accountable.
Lindo, Siminski, and Swensen’s findings directly relate to the work we do at STAR. STAR serves student populations that attend both LSU and Tulane. LSU is a D1 football school, and Tulane has a strong reputation as a “party school” as well as an up-and-coming football school after a recent Cotton Bowl win. College students comprise roughly 15% of the annual client volume at STAR across all of our branches. Understanding when and why student populations may be more vulnerable to sexual assault is important to implementing effective, preventative measures in these communities while providing these populations with appropriate support.
Danger points for sexual assault can be prevented with targeted interventions, including sex education programs. The earlier sex education programs are started, the more effective they are proven to be. Intentionally or not, explicit discussions about alcohol and partying have largely been left out of sex education and sexual assault prevention education programs.
Taking steps to address drinking culture as a whole on college campuses is an important step in initiating a more pervasive shift that may contribute to decreased perpetration, rather than focusing on the individual drinking habits of students. On college campuses specifically, educators and leaders need to implement policies and educational efforts concerning the dangers presented by alcohol use. STAR can assist by facilitating training and providing educational materials and plans that equip colleges and universities with the necessary tools to fulfill their promise of campus safety for everyone.
Mikey Panner is a senior at Tulane University studying Gender and Sexuality Studies and English. She is from Washington, DC and works at STAR as a Grants and Operations Intern.
Sources cited:
¹Lindo, Jason, Isaac Swensen, Peter Siminski. “Big Game Days in College Football Linked with Sexual Assault.” The Conversation, 13 Sept. 2022, https://theconversation.com/big-game-days-in-college-football-linked-with-sexual-assault-9272..
²Lindo, Jason, Isaac Swensen, Peter Siminski. “Football, College Party Culture, and Sexual Assault.” Econofact , 19 July 2018, https://econofact.org/football-college-party-culture-and-sexual-assault.
