Why are male students in the UK at increased risk of committing sexual crimes at university?

What is it about?

Incidents of sexual assault, rape, and other forms of unwanted, non-consensual sexual behaviour are common amongst university students in the UK. A majority of these crimes (over 90%) are perpetrated against female students by male students, who are significantly more likely to commit an offence whilst at university compared to their peers in the wider community. However, despite its prevalence, there has been no published research looking at the root causes of UK male students' sexually violent behaviours, nor any scientific work examining the psychological or behavioural characteristics of those who have perpetrated an offence. Subsequently, researchers possess no solid foundations on which to develop interventions to reduce male students' risk of perpetrating sexual crimes during their studies. Our two research studies – described in this article – are the first to scientifically examine why male students in the UK are at risk of engaging in sexually violent behaviours at university. They are also the first to estimate the prevalence of sexual violence perpetrated by male students. Overall, our findings showed that 11.4% of the male students who took part in our studies reported that they had recently engaged in sexually violent behaviour, spanning non-consensual sexual touching through actual rape. Several of these students admitted to perpetrating more than one offence, with some committing over 30 offences in the past 2-years. Based on their responses to various attitudinal and behavioural measures, our statistical analyses showed that students who reported perpetrating an offence were psychologically different from students who did not report perpetration. Specifically, we discovered that students with a recent history of sexual violence were more likely to endorse 'rape myths' (i.e., prejudicial, stereotypical, and false beliefs about sexual offences and victims), possess more negative and sexist attitudes about women (e.g., the belief that most women are manipulative), and report higher levels of aggression, compared to their non-offending peers. They were also more likely to disclose inappropriate sexual fantasies, including those that centred around hurting people or engaging in non-consensual sexual behaviours. We suggest that universities should use our findings to develop more tailored strategies to prevent sexual violence, including interventions for male students who are at risk of perpetrating a sexual crime.

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Being a victim of sexual violence is associated with multiple negative and long-term physical, psychological, and economic outcomes. For student victims, there are also numerous academic consequences. By offering the first scientific assessment of sexual violence at UK universities, our studies provide policymakers and researchers the foundations on which to develop more effective strategies for tackling sexual assault and rape. These strategies are necessary to help universities across the country to overcome the sexual violence pandemic they are currently experiencing, and make higher education a safer and more rewarding opportunity for students.

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