Psychology Professor Antonia Abbey comments in the New York Times

Sorority anti-rape idea: Drinking on own turf

New York Times

By Alan Schwarz

For decades, national sorority organizations have banned alcohol in their houses. But as debate intensifies over how to address sexual assaults on college campuses, many of them occurring at fraternity house parties, some female students are questioning that rule, asserting that allowing alcohol would give women not just sorority members the option to attend Greek house parties that women control, from setting off-limits areas to deciding the content of the punch. The move would by no means eliminate sexual violence on campus, they said, but perhaps provide a benefit. Some advocates and experts in sexual violence doubt that allowing alcohol at sororities would significantly reduce campus incidents, and could backfire by expanding the rampant underage drinking that leads to many sexual assaults. Antonia Abbey, a professor of psychology at Wayne State University, said that so many sexual assaults had occurred away from fraternity parties that colleges should improve educational programs and crack down on all drinking, regardless of gender or venue.

Read the full article at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/20/us/sorority-anti-rape-idea-drinking-on-own-turf.html