Social, Legal, and Institutional Context of Heterosexual Aggression by College Women

Abstract

This review concerns women’s heterosexual aggression. Social context considers prevalence and incidence, gender roles and social norms, reactions to receiving aggression, and alcohol and drugs. Legal context focuses on state law and institutional context focuses on college and university codes of conduct. Primary findings: women engage in the full range of sexually aggressive behaviors attributed to men; the language of many legal codes place women’s heterosexually aggressive behaviors below the threshold for rape even when it involves physical force or the use of a weapon; many men, similar to many women, do not report receiving sexual aggression and may not define themselves as victims; regardless of reporting status or self-perception, some men do suffer physical and psychological symptoms as a result of receiving sexual aggression from women; and women’s heterosexual aggression may be more socially acceptable than men’s.