"Blurred Lines": Rape Culture and Institutional Decision-Making

Abstract

This thesis seeks to investigate both the basis of rape culture in academic theory as well as its impact on the outcome of collegiate sexual assault investigations by university administrators and law enforcement offcials. We view this from a new perspective, exploring the ways in which the attitudes and assumptions that comprise rape culture influence the decision-making of institutional figures who claim objectivity in their adjudication process. Understanding the way rape culture and institutions interact in this way clears a path for an approach to rape prevention that focuses on accountability and consequence for perpetrators by redressing the misconceptions and biases of the figures of authority who impose these measures.