Rape on Campus: Study Links 40 Percent of Reported Gang Rape Attacks to College Athletes

Campus sexual assault has become an all-too-frequent problem in America's universities.

United Educators, the company that offers liability insurance to schools, put out a new study titled Student Sexual Assault: Weathering the Perfect Storm. The study examined their client colleges from 2011 to 2013. U.E. was able to collect a wider set of information on both the alleged victim and the perpetrator, as well as how the school responded.

Al Jazeera examined some conclusions made from the United Educators study on campus assault.

One of the conclusions the report made is campus sexual assault involving multiple perpetrators was often committed by college athletes. They made up 40 percent of gang rape attacks reported to schools. The report points to the athletic "culture that promotes hyper-masculinity, sexual aggression and excessive alcohol consumption."

Ten percent of the sexual assault reports U.E. looked at involved more than one perpetrator.

The study also found fraternity members were more likely to be repeat offenders.

Fraternity members made up 10 percent of accused perpetrators in the study. However, these students made up 24 percent of repeat offenders. Athletes made up another 20 percent. The report concluded that 1 in 5 rapists were repeat offenders.

Both alleged victims and rapists were more likely to be drinking prior to the assault. In 11 percent of "physical force assaults," the attacker was more likely to be drinking and the victim was not. This was also found in 7 percent of attacks, where the alleged rapist inferred consent from the victim's silence.

U.E. suggests drinking enables some students "to more easily use force to obtain sex when their partner refuses" and "contributes to misinterpreting sexual interest or ignoring their partner's hesitation."

The release of the study comes in the wake of the conviction of two former Vanderbilt student athletes for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman. Two years after the attack, Brandon Vandenburg and Cory Batey, both 21, were found guilty in January. The two face 15 to 80 years for the crime. Vandenburg was a former tight end for the school's football team. Batey was a wide receiver. The convicted rapists' defense team claimed both defendants were too drunk to be in their right minds. Two other students will be put on trial at a later date.