ArticlePublisher preview available

Perceptions of University Policies to Prevent Sexual Assault on Campus Among College Students in the USA

Authors:
Tara Kay Streng Schroeter at University of Colorado Boulder
Tara Kay Streng Schroeter
Akiko Kamimura at University of Utah
Akiko Kamimura
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract

http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13178-016-0245-x The purpose of this study is to assess correlations between attitude, opinions, and perceptions of sexual assault on campus and perceptions of university policies related to sexual assault among college students. Students (N = 507) at a large public university in the intermountain west region of the USA completed a survey in February and March 2015. Multivariable multiple regression was conducted to test the association between perceptions of students regarding university polices on sexual assault and individual factors. The factors that were predictive for student perceptions of sexual assault policy importance included student gender, affiliation with a campus organization, previous report of sexual assault to university officials, and adherence to particular anti-rape attitudes. Attitudes and perceptions of sexual assault may be very important for successful implementation of university policies related to sexual assault.
A preview of this full-text is provided by Springer Nature.
Learn more
Content available from Sexuality Research and Social Policy
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Tara K. St r e n g
1
&Akiko Kamimura
1
Published online: 5 August 2016
#Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract The purpose of this study is to assess correla-
tions between attitude, opinions, and perceptions of sex-
ual assault on campus and perceptions of university
policies related to sexual assault among college students.
Students (N= 507) at a large public university in the
intermountain west region of the USA completed a sur-
vey in February and March 2015. Multivariable multiple
regression was conducted to test the association between
perceptions of students regarding university polices on
sexual assault and individual factors. The factors that
were predictive for student perceptions of sexual assault
policy importance included student gender, affiliation
with a campus organization, previous report of sexual
assault to university officials, and adherence to particular
anti-rape attitudes. Attitudes and perceptions of sexual
assault may be very important for successful implemen-
tation of university policies related to sexual assault.
Keywords Sexual assault .University policy .Safety .
Violence prevention
Introduction
Sexual assault is an extremely prevalent occurrence within
the American system of higher education. Previous stud-
ies have shown that close to 20 % of women have expe-
rienced a completed sexual assault by their senior year of
college (Krebs et al. 2009). Further, students attending
institutions of higher education are subject to increased
risk for sexual assault and rape than the general popula-
tion and may experience both at higher rates as well
(Joseph et al. 2013).
The negative health effects stemming from sexual
violence are extensive and well documented. Those
who have experienced sexual violence are more likely
to report psychological disorders such as the following:
major depressive disorder, anxiety, and post traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD) (Kirkpatrick et al. 2007;
Nickerson et al. 2013). These survivors are also more
likely to abuse of drugs and alcohol and to drop out of
school compared to students who have never survived
sexual violence (Zinzow et al. 2011; Gidycz et. al.
2008). The development of psychological disorders and
their effects not only harm the students who have sur-
vived sexual assault, but also further disrupt the larger
academic community.
There is a trove of literature regarding proposed preventa-
tive measures for universities to address sexual violence.
However, student attitudes toward campus sexual assault
policies remain relatively undocumented. In 2014, The
White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual
Assault released its Not Alone report. The report advocates
for American institutions of higher education to adopt sexual
violence policies if they have none and also vies to reform
existing policies (White House Task Force to Protect
Students from Sexual Assault 2014). The Not Alone report
suggested recommendations in the following areas: reporting
policies and protocol, investigative policies and protocol,
grievance and adjudication procedures, prevention and educa-
tion policies, and training information for related faculty and
staff. Since the release of Not Alone, colleges and universities
have rapidly worked to reform their sexual violence policies.
*Akiko Kamimura
Akiko.kamimura@utah.edu
1
Department of Sociology, University of Utah, 380 S 1530 E, Salt
LakeCity,UT84112,USA
Sex Res Soc Policy (2017) 14:133–142
DOI 10.1007/s13178-016-0245-x
Perceptions of University Policies to Prevent Sexual Assault
on Campus Among College Students in the USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... During this period, awareness of campus sexual assault appeared to be at an all-time high (Streng and Kamimura 2017). The Obama administration, in the preceding year, for instance, launched the 'It's On Us' campaign (Williams et al. 2020) which emphasized collective public and institutional action toward preventing sexual victimization. ...
... Moreover, when queried about what colleges can do to prevent sexual assault, over 90% of the public reported that institutions should increase punishment associated with the perpetration of sex crimes (Mancini and Budd 2020). Not least, scholarship indicates general approval for institutional policies related to Title IX, such as mandatory reporting (Mancini et al. 2016;Newins and White 2018;Streng and Kamimura 2017). ...
... This body of research suggests that most of the public is concerned about campus sex crimes (Mancini and Budd 2020) and a majority believe there are actions institutions can undertake to reduce the occurrence of assaults (Streng and Kamimura 2017). However, because all of these studies were conducted prior to the adoption of the 2020 Trump-era reforms -the extent to which such views hold in contemporary eras is unknown. ...
Politics, knowledge, and sexual assault: public perceptions of Trump-era Title IX proceedings
Article
  • Mar 2022
In 2020, the Trump administration issued new guidance concerning Title IX proceedings; one controversial change was the emphasis on greater confrontation between complainants and respondents during the grievance process. Little is known concerning public perceptions of these reforms, which diverge from previous federal guidance. To that end, we explore three questions. First, to what extent was the public aware of changes to Title IX? Second, does the public think colleges can safely implement confrontational grievance procedures, or do they view such proceedings skeptically? Last, what factors are associated with beliefs about confrontational features of Title IX? Analysis indicates that there are conditional effects of political ideology on levels of knowledge about the Title IX changes on attitudes toward grievance proceedings. Additionally, other demographic correlates – age, sex, and educational attainment – are associated with perceptions. Implications are discussed.
View
... The 2017 rollback of Obama-era protections within Title IX have brought the issue into the realm of popular media and thus to the forefront of the American consciousness (Smith 2018;Suk Gersen 2017;Tolentino 2018). The problem has revealed itself to be widespread, with some projections indicating that one in four college women will experience some kind of sexual assault or sexual coercion during her time at university (Streng and Kamimura 2017;Wolitzky-Taylor et al. 2011). While colleges and universities have been actively policing and implementing policy regarding rape and sexual assault for over two decades, they still remain highly underreported crimes whose reported rates have not declined in the last fifty years (Armstrong, Hamilton, and Sweeney 2006). ...
... Those identifying as male made up about a quarter of respondents, and only about four percent identified as being non-binary. This is concurrent with the literature which has found that women generally make up the majority of those experiencing and disclosing about unwanted sexual experiences and sexual assault (Banyard et al. 2007;Brake 2017;Morgan and Kena 2017;Sinozich et al. 2014;Streng and Kamimura 2017). However, in the last few decades, research has also broadened the spectrum of victimization, making sure to include those who identify as male and those identifying as non-binary (van der Bruggen and Grubb 2014; Coulter et 40 al. 2017;Freyd 2014). ...
... Given the effect that attending a sexual assault prevention class had on disclosure practices, these mandatory sexual assault prevention classes in the first and possible second years could have a positive effect on future disclosure. Further, the current research suggests that the role of gender plays a large part in how the messages of sexual assault prevention are absorbed into the student consciousness, therefore single-gender classes and specialized programming could help deepen the message regarding prevention, disclosure, and reporting (Banyard et al. 2007;Streng and Kamimura 2017). By teaching bystander awareness as well as sexual assault prevention, these educational measures have the potential to change college cultural understandings 57 of sexual assault (Banyard 2014;Cox 2018;Potter et al. 2012 Southern Oregon University is predominantly Caucasian and initial analyses showed that race and ethnicity did not factor prominently into disclosure practices and were therefore excluded from subsequent analyses. ...
View
... Indeed, it has been found that educational programming makes the most statistically significant difference in the prevention of sexual aggression (McMahon, 2008). In the current study, participants encouraged that educational programming cover the process of reporting (e.g., how to report), and other research has likewise found that students encourage elucidating the process of reporting as a way to ultimately reduce the incidence of sexual aggression (Streng & Kamimura, 2016). Also in the current study, participants encouraged that they be given institution-specific sexual aggression statistics (an interesting finding to consider in light of their low perceptions of sexual aggression severity and frequency among UConn students), which aligns with consistent calls in other studies for prevention programming to be self-relevant (DeGue et al., 2014;Scheel, Johnson, Schneider, & Smith, 2001;Streng & Kamimura, 2016). ...
... In the current study, participants encouraged that educational programming cover the process of reporting (e.g., how to report), and other research has likewise found that students encourage elucidating the process of reporting as a way to ultimately reduce the incidence of sexual aggression (Streng & Kamimura, 2016). Also in the current study, participants encouraged that they be given institution-specific sexual aggression statistics (an interesting finding to consider in light of their low perceptions of sexual aggression severity and frequency among UConn students), which aligns with consistent calls in other studies for prevention programming to be self-relevant (DeGue et al., 2014;Scheel, Johnson, Schneider, & Smith, 2001;Streng & Kamimura, 2016). Affiliated participants also perceived providing more support for victimized students as important to reduce sexual aggression, again consistent with findings from the literature. ...
... Affiliated participants also perceived providing more support for victimized students as important to reduce sexual aggression, again consistent with findings from the literature. For example, other research has highlighted the importance of institutions' clear commitment to preventing sexual aggression (Streng & Kamimura, 2016), which is a form of supporting victimized students. Finally, in this study, affiliated participants also called for more consequences for perpetrators, which is a novel suggestion compared to those from other studies. ...
Sexual Aggression in Greek Life: Perceptions, Definitions, and Recommendations for Prevention
Article
  • Jun 2019
Sexual aggression is a major public health issue in higher education settings. The overall objective of this study was to examine whether Greek-affiliated students differ from unaffiliated students in how they view sexual aggression, and in what types of strategies they believe could reduce it. This information can enhance the effectiveness of prevention efforts by facilitating more targeted and engaging programming. A convenience sample of 450 undergraduate students at a large public university in the northeastern United States completed a survey on their views of sexual aggression, including its meaning, severity, frequency, contributing factors, reporting, and importance. They also made suggestions for prevention efforts. ANCOVAs were used to test for group differences by affiliation, and whether these differences varied by gender. Affiliation differences were found in perceptions of severity and frequency of sexual aggression, with affiliated students perceiving less severity and frequency within Greek life than among college students generally while unaffiliated students perceived the opposite. Affiliated students also perceived sexual aggression as more important to address than unaffiliated students, reported being more aware of and involved with prevention programming, and saw less of a need for Greek life to receive its own specialized and separate prevention programming. Gender differences were also found, with female students consistently perceiving more severity and frequency than male students, as well as attributing sexual aggression more than male students to traditional beliefs about gender roles and sexual objectification. Female students also perceived sexual aggression as more important to address than male students, discussed it with peers more frequently, and defined it more negatively, emotionally, personally, and violently. Gender was found to moderate perceived importance to address sexual aggression, with unaffiliated male students perceiving it as least important and unaffiliated female students as most. All students, particularly female students, perceived sexual aggression to be underreported, and reporting students to face negative consequences as a result of reporting. Male students perceived over half of reports to be fallacious. Primary recommendations to reduce sexual aggression were educational approaches, more support for victimized students, and more consequences for perpetrators. Implications of study findings for prevention efforts are discussed.
View
... To be clear, policymakers and university administrations are in a tough spot when it comes to addressing sexual violence. On the one hand, the public supports a range of initiatives to address sexual victimization when students attend college, including strengthening reporting procedures, such as policies that require faculty and staff to report student disclosures of sexual victimization (Streng & Kamimura, 2017). Moreover, in the wake of high-profile campus sex crime scandals, particularly those that have emphasized administrative "cover-ups," Americans now expect institutional accountability (Mancini et al., 2019). ...
Alerting Faculty, Staff, and Students? Public Opinion on Sex Offender Notification on College Campuses
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2022
Institutes of higher education have been called to action to address and prevent sexual violence perpetrated against college students. Based on legislation, one potential pathway is the extension of sex offender registration and notification (SORN) to the campus community. No research has assessed public perceptions of extending SORN, and in particular the perceived importance of notifying faculty, staff, and/or students about an enrolled student on campus that is registered. Via an online survey, this research assessed public perceptions of 1,269 U.S. adults in relation to campus notification. Using logistic regression, influencing factors that increased the odds respondents would find notification important for faculty/staff and students included their level of concern about registered persons attending college, number of children, and perceptions of social problems being worse now compared to 10 years ago. In regard to notifying students, African American respondents were more likely to think notifying students was important. Findings are discussed in relation to prior work on SORN as well as policy implications and considerations.
View
... Young people who put themselves in a perilous situation or a chaotic area are more likely to engage in criminal activities. Youth's closeness to and exposure to violence, as well as their probability of becoming perpetrators or victims of violence, rises when they engage in "risky activities," such as alcohol and drug use, gang involvement, and connection with antisocial peers [19,20]. ...
View
... Maybe because hostile environment sexual harassment always entails an obvious power disparity between administrator and faculty or professor and student, such manifestations of gender and power are more likely to be researched than those that appear to be between student peers. Of literature on sexual harassment within higher education related to policy, none I've found mentions online harassment as different from offline harassment; online harassment is seen as a reflection of offline behavior (if mentioned at all) (American Association of University Professors, 2014; Bagley, Natarajan, Vayzman, Wexler, & McCarthy, 2012;Bradley, Deutsch-Feldman,, & Warren, 2011;Hall, Graham, & Hoover, 2004;Joubert, Van Wyk, & Rothmann, 2011;Malenczyk, 2013;McLeod, 2007;Napolitano, 2015;O'Connor, Schmidt, & Drouin, 2016;Penrod & Fusilier, 2010Streng & Kamimura, 2017;Woodward, Pelletier, Griffin, & Harrington, 2016). ...
Developing Awareness of Student-to-student Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment in Online Writing Classes
Preprint
Full-text available
  • Jun 2022
Despite increased awareness of sexual harassment in higher education and more students moving to online classes, research on sexual harassment in online classes is virtually nonexistent. I report on the first study of its type. My study addresses the issue of student-to-student sexual harassment in online writing classes using data gathered through a survey and interviews with writing teachers and administrators. I discuss how 1) hostile environment sexual harassment can occur within online writing classrooms, 2) instructors and administrators may be unaware of this harassment, and 3) policies that address on-campus sexual harassment may not apply to online classes. To begin I share narratives of student-to-student sexual harassment that occurred in two of my online writing classes. To gather data, I use a survey distributed to instructors and administrators with an interest in online education and/or sexual harassment; I sent this survey through the WPA listserv and two Facebook groups. I follow up with interviews from survey participants who volunteered. Survey data compared with interview data reveals that educators may not realize the degree to which sexual harassment occurs in online classes, yet they often claim to be able to deal with any sexual harassment situation that may occur in online classes. Educators need a stronger understanding of sexual harassment in online class spaces as a real problem and of the necessity for more research and better policies in dealing with this form of harassment.
View
... Participants self-reported their age in years and education, 1 (less than high school), 2 (high school graduate), 3 (some college), 4 (associate's degree), 5 (bachelor's degree), 6 (some postgraduate work), and 7 (postgraduate degree). Due to differences in women's and men's likelihood of experiencing sexual assault (Banyard et al., 2007;Cook & Fox, 2012;Fedina et al., 2016) and perceptions of sexual assault policies (e.g., Mancini et al., 2010;Streng & Kamimura, 2016), we also controlled for gender. We used the Gender Identity in the U.S. Surveillance group (The GenIUSS Group, 2014) two-step approach to assess gender identity, which asks participants' their sex assigned at birth (female, male) and current gender identity (woman, man, transwoman, transman, genderqueer or gender non-conforming, non-binary, and another identity [text write-in]). ...
Examining Support for University‐to‐Police Reporting Policies for Sexual Assault: The Role of Survivors’ Consent
Article
  • Jul 2021
In several states, bills have been introduced that require universities to report sexual assaults to law enforcement. Opponents argue that such policies can compel survivors to disclose against their will, stripping survivors of autonomy and harming campus communities. We used a mixed method approach to examine people’s support for reporting policies that do and do not consider survivor consent: compelled police disclosure (requires a report regardless of victim consent) and consented police disclosure (requires a report if the victim consents). We examined individual characteristics and attitudes associated with support for these approaches (i.e., had experienced sexual assault, trust in police). Participants (1,045 adults in the United States) were randomly assigned to read one of three policy statements, and we collected quantitative and qualitative survey data. Participants were less supportive of compelled police disclosure than consented police disclosure. People who supported compelled disclosure frequently focused on the crime and potential social benefits, were more likely to be non‐victims, and held greater trust in the police. People who supported consented disclosure focused on the victim’s needs, were more likely to be survivors, and held less trust in the police. Survivor consent should be considered in the discussion of university‐to‐police reporting policies for sexual assault. States have introduced bills that require universities to report sexual assaults to law enforcement. We examined people’s support for reporting policies that do and do not consider survivor consent. People were less supportive of a policy mandating reports to police regardless of survivor consent. Those who supported compelled reports focused on crime, were often nonvictims, trusted police. Those who supported consented reports focused on victims, were often survivors, mistrusted police.
View
... While there exists literature on barriers to sexual assault disclosure as well as on students' perceptions of sexual assault on campus, research on students' perceptions, understandings, and knowledge of campus sexual assault policies and/or services (Garcia et al., 2012;Mancini et al., 2016;Nasta et al., 2005;Streng & Kamimura, 2017), particularly as it relates to sexual violence on Canadian campuses, is limited (Council of Ontario Universities, 2020; Quinlan et al., 2016). Students' opinions of campus adjudication of sexual assault, and students' likelihood of reporting sexual assault to campus authorities, also remains largely unexplored Orchowski et al., 2009;Taylor & Gassner, 2010). ...
The Role of Trust in Student Perceptions of University Sexual Assault Policies and Services
Article
Full-text available
  • Aug 2020
Many post-secondary institutions are developing policies and programs aimed at improving responses to sexual assault experienced by students. In some areas, such as Ontario, Canada, the government has mandated post-secondary institutions to do so. However significant these initiatives, they are predicated on the assumption that students trust, and want to engage with, the university following sexual violence. This study explores students’ perceptions of sexual assault policies and services on one mid-size university campus focusing specifically on how trust factors into reporting sexual victimization and using services. Findings show that students believe that sexual assault policies and programs exist, but this does not meanstudents are willing to use such resources or that they even trust that their university has students’ needs and interests at the fore. This paper discusses policy and programmatic considerations for building student trust in their post-secondary institutions to encourage student use of campus support.
View
Faculty and Staff Perceptions of Title IX Mandatory Reporting Policies at Two Institutions
Article
Most faculty and staff at postsecondary institutions are mandatory reporters who must disclose sexual assault to a Title IX Coordinator. However, scholarship examining their role is sparse. We address this gap by investigating perceptions and experiences of employees (n = 166) at two institutions. Findings indicate that most employees are aware of their reporting duties, likely to comply, have received training, and support mandated reporting. Additionally, we find significant sociodemographic differences in perceptions of mandatory reporting. Those who have had a direct experience reporting have mixed reactions to the process. We discuss research and policy implications.
View
Campus Sexual Assault Policies: A Feminist Policy Analysis Framework
Article
  • Sep 2019
The purpose of this study is to conduct a feminist-based policy analysis to examine the role of power in campus sexual assault policies. This research investigated the role of power in campus policies that are in response to addressing sexual assault using a feminist policy analysis framework. McPhail’s (2003) Feminist-Based Policy Analysis Framework was used to study the policy-setting documents authored by the United States (U.S.) Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights and White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault that was established in 2014. Together, these documents encompass the federal guidelines for college campuses’ compliance, rights, and responsibility under Title IX. The Framework provides four questions to consider when analyzing the role of power within a policy. Several strengths of the policies are identified as well as tension between the power of institutions versus the power of student survivors, specifically in mandatory reporting policies. Implications for social work research, practice, and policy are explored along with identifying the study’s limitations and future research suggestions.
View
A New Instrument for the Evaluation of a Date Rape Prevention Program
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 1997
  • J COLL STUDENT DEV
The College Date Rape Attitude Survey (CDRAS), a measure intended to assess attitudes related to risk for committing rape in adolescents and young adults, was examined to determine the principal component structure of rape-related attitudes in data collected on an undergraduate college sample. Results provide evidence that responses to the instrument are reliable with regard to internal consistency, and that the CDRAS measures four rape-related attitudes: Entitlement, Blame Shifting, Traditional Roles, and Overwhelming Sexual Arousal. The CDRAS could be used to elicit information about student's attitudes , which could then be used to develop, implement, and evaluate an intervention specific to the needs of that population.
View
The Men's Project: A Sexual Assault Prevention Program Targeting College Men
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2013
The current study presents the Men's Project, a sexual assault prevention program that targets college men. The Men's Project integrates social norms, empathy, and bystander education programs into one program for college men. Male student leaders were recruited to participate in the 11-week program for 2 hours each week. The beginning of the program introduces men to issues of gender socialization, male privilege, and sexuality, followed by a few weeks exploring the breadth and depth of sexual violence, including its emotional and psychological impacts on survivors. Finally, participants learn about bystander intervention at individual and institutional levels. Participants completed a survey before and after participation in the Men's Project. Results demonstrate that from baseline to posttest, participants reported reductions in sexism, rape myth acceptance, and gender-biased language use in addition to increases in collective action willingness, feminist activism, and bystander efficacy. Discussion centers on men's role in ending sexual violence and the need for more prevention programs targeting men. The present article demonstrates the utility of the Men's Project in engaging men to work toward ending sexual violence.
View
Sexual Assault Prevention and Reporting on College Campuses in the US: A Review of Policies and Recommendations
Article
Full-text available
  • Jan 2015
Objective: Sexual violence within the collegiate environment is a pressing issue within American society. One way to address sexual violence is through the adaptation and implementation of a sexual assault policy by colleges and universities. The purpose of this study is to review sexual misconduct and assault policies of ten public universities as well as federal policies in the US. This study contributes to increasing the knowledge of sexual assault policies on American campuses that would be helpful in the development of more effective prevention policies, increasing sexual assault reporting, and decreasing sexual assaults. Methods: The data included relevant legislation, and the university sexual assault and/or misconduct policies from ten selected public universities within the United States in Fall 2014. Results: The policies of the ten universities vary. Three of the universities do not have university policies that explicitly address sexual misconduct as assault. Sexual harassment policies tend to focus on the threat of violence, as opposed to perpetrated sexual violence itself. Conclusions: Further efforts in policy revisions need to be made so that more universities will not only implement sexual assault policies, but also implement more comprehensive policies. 1. Introduction Female college students have an extremely high risk of being sexually assaulted, it is estimated that one third of female college students are victims of sexual assault by their senior year of college (Finley & Corty, 1993). With such a high percentage of female college students being sexually assaulted, on campus sexual assault prevention programs are essential in lowering the number of sexual assaults (Karjane, Fisher, & Cullen, 2005). According to the Know Your Rights: Title IX Requires Your School to Address Sexual Violence (U.S. Department of Education, 2011), the Education Amendments of 1972 is the cornerstone piece of legislation in the fight to end sexual violence within institutions of higher education. The Education Amendments of 1972 have been an extremely important piece of legislation for American colleges and universities. Their importance in reference to sexual violence has stemmed specifically from their Title IX. Title IX was designed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex within all institutions that receive federal financial aid. Title IX further calls for institutions that receive federal financial aid to implement educational programs and also to have policies in place to prevent and protect against sexual violence between and against their students. Because of Title IX, colleges and Universities must respond promptly to sexual violence, provide interim measures, provide students with access to support services, conduct a full investigation and further provide redress as necessary (US Department of Education, 2011). In early 2014 the White House Task force published their Not Alone report (White House Task Force, 2014), which explicitly holds colleges and universities accountable for needing to act to prevent sexual assault of their students, and to implement stronger policies for when students are assaulted. Despite development of federal legislation, sexual violence on college campuses is still greatly underreported (Armstrong, Hamilton, & Sweeney, 2006). One of the contributing factors to that may be that the vast majority of perpetrators are acquaintances, making it harder for the women who experience assault to report (Orchowski, Meyer & Gidycz, 2009). Another reason is that survivors of sexual assault may be unclear on where to report an assault to campus officials. Further, two of the top ranked fears for both male and female college students in regard to reporting are: the issues of confidentiality, and fear of not being believed (Sable, Danis, Mauzy & Gallagher, 2006). Women have often felt re-victimized and that they will not be believed oftentimes when investigators ask if alcohol or drugs was involved, or if they had a previous relationship with their perpetrator (Cohn, Zinzow, Resnick & Kilpatrick, 2012). Sexual assault is a significant health issue among female college students. Sexual assault survivors are more likely to report psychological disorders such as major Depressive Disorder and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and to drop out of school compared to students who had never been victims of sexual assault (Vladitiu, Martin & Macy, 2011). For these reasons, as well as for others, universities need to reevaluate their sexual assault and misconduct policies to ensure the safety and health of female students, and to ensure proper learning environments for all students. The purpose of this study is to review sexual misconduct and assault policies of ten public universities in the US. This study analyzed how the university policies comply with Title IX, as well
View
Does sex sell products or violence? Examining the relationships among the media’s sexual objectification of women, rape myth acceptance, and interpersonal violence
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2015
A new trend has emerged in print advertisements by which women’s bodies are literally morphed into objects. This study begins to explore this phenomenon by examining the effects of viewing these types of advertisements on attitudes toward rape and violence, as well as rape likelihood. In addition, this study examined the degree to which moral disengagement and dehumanization influences rape likelihood through rape myth acceptance. Three hundred eighty participants viewed 1 of 3 conditions—control, sexual objectification of women, or women as objects—and then filled out a number of questionnaires to assess their rape myth acceptance, acceptance of interpersonal violence, rape likelihood, and moral disengagement. Results indicated that although viewing sexually objectified women in advertising did not increase any of the dependent variables for individuals in the experimental conditions compared to the control condition, there was a main effect of sex for several dependent measures, as well as a full mediation of moral disengagement and rape likelihood by rape myth acceptance in male participants. These findings suggest that education aimed at correcting men’s endorsement of rape myths might be a key pathway to decreasing rape likelihood. Despite these conclusions, this study’s primary limitation was that it was conducted with collegiate participants with an unequal gender distribution.
View
Central Limit Theorem
Chapter
  • Sep 2024
This chapter is on the central limit theorem (CLT) for martingales, which is very useful, since it can be used in numerous dependent models. We state and prove one of the simplest versions of CLT for martingales. As simple illustrations, we apply it to a simple urn model, to the trace of a random matrix, and to Markov chains.
View
View
View
Addressing Sexual Assault within Social Systems: System Justification as a Barrier to College Prevention Efforts
Article
  • May 2013
Sexual assault perpetrated by men against women is a distressingly common occurrence, particularly on college campuses. One of the barriers to assault prevention efforts is the general perception of violence against women as an unwanted yet implicitly tolerated aspect of the status quo. Drawing on system justification theory, a concept used to explain why individuals accept aspects of their social systems that are objectively unjust, the mechanisms that perpetuate sexual assault are examined. Furthermore, this theory is used to examine current prevention efforts on college campuses and suggestions for modifications to these programs will be made.
View
College Women's Likelihood to Report Unwanted Sexual Experiences to Campus Agencies: Trends and Correlates
Article
  • Nov 2009
The present study examined college women's likelihood to report sexual victimization to the police, a friend, the counseling center, their resident advisor, or on a survey (N = 300). In comparison to other forms of reporting, women perceived themselves to be most likely to report victimization on a survey. Women also indicated a higher likelihood to report to friends rather than to other agencies. Likelihood to report on a survey did not vary as a function of history of sexual victimization; however, women with a victimization history indicated a lower likelihood to report to all agencies compared to women without a victimization history. Correlates of women's likelihood to report were also documented.
View
The Role of Rape Myth Acceptance and Psychopathy in Sexual Assault Perpetration
Article
  • Feb 2013
Perpetrators of sexual aggression consistently report higher scores on measures of psychopathy and acceptance of rape myths relative to nonperpetrators. However, less is known about psychopathy among nonincarcerated individuals and the relation between the two constructs has not been empirically examined among college perpetrators. To address this gap, both constructs were measured in a sample (N = 308) of college men. Rape myth acceptance was positively correlated with psychopathy, and perpetrators scored higher on both constructs. Myths transferring responsibility to victims were related to Factor 1 psychopathy (i.e., callous and manipulative traits). The myth that “rape is trivial” was associated with Factor 1 and Factor 2 (i.e., impulsive and antisocial behavior), possibly suggesting that this myth is related to a larger tendency to excuse aggressive behavior. Although both constructs distinguished perpetrators when considered individually, rape myth acceptance did not explain unique variance in the presence of psychopathy.
View