Leveraging Data to Strengthen Campus Sexual Assault Policies

Alcohol's Role in Campus Sexual Assault Bystander Behavior: A Systematic Review

Between 50% and 70% of campus sexual assaults (SA) involve alcohol and campuses frequently promote bystander intervention strategies to prevent SA in student party contexts. This systematic review evaluates the measurement and outcomes of quantitative studies on how alcohol affects campus SA bystander outcomes. Using four search strategies and rigorous systematic review methods, we conducted a review of 36 studies. We included studies published after 2,000 conducted with college students in the United States, its territories, and Canada which contained information on alcohol use and SA bystander outcomes (behaviors and upstream proxies). Only a third of included studies measured bystander behavior directly, the majority measured upstream proxies (e.g., intentions, self-efficacy). Most studies considered the influence of victim intoxication on bystander outcomes. No studies assessed the pharmacological or physiological effects of alcohol on bystander outcomes. A single study examined hypothetical bystander responses when intoxicated, one-third examined bystander's typical alcohol use in relation to bystander outcomes. Many findings are contradictory, including fundamental details such as how often students encounter SA involving alcohol or whether bystanders' alcohol use predicts outcomes. Findings suggest that students are less likely help intoxicated victims compared to sober victims, but there are clear moderating factors. Perpetrator intoxication was not studied in relation to bystander behavior and did not influence any upstream proxies. Evaluations of interventions on alcohol and bystander topics are promising yet more research is required. This review illuminates key gaps in the literature, including the need for validated measures and scenarios, event-level studies, and alcohol administration trials.

Comparing sexual misconduct incidents in Annual Security Reports and Title IX coordinator data: Do policies increase reporting

OBJECTIVE

Few studies have compared measures of sexual misconduct reporting, and there are few assessments of campus policies on reporting.

METHODS

Using data from New York institutions of higher education (IHEs) (N = 209) we compare the number of sexual misconduct incidents reported in Annual Security Reports (ASRs) and to Title IX coordinators, and explore the relationship between policies and reporting across both measures, while controlling for institutional factors.

RESULTS

The majority of IHEs had higher numbers of sexual misconduct incidents reported to Title IX coordinators than reported in ASR data. Student bills of rights were associated with higher reporting in ASRs no policies were associated with reporting to Title IX coordinators.

CONCLUSIONS

Campus sexual misconduct is both a public policy and a public health problem; we must advance the role of data and data-driven decision-making in crafting evidenced-based solutions.

LGBTQ+-Affirming Campus Sexual and Relationship Violence Prevention: A Qualitative Study

LGBTQ+ (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, nonbinary, queer) people are often left out of campus sexual and relationship violence (SRV) prevention efforts despite experiencing higher rates of SRV. To inform LGBTQ+-affirming prevention efforts, we use a practice-to-research approach to aggregate wisdom from 32 LGBTQ+ professionals working to address campus SRV among LGBTQ+ college students garnered through semi-structured interviews. Participants shared four approaches to including or excluding LGBTQ+ students in campus SRV prevention programs as well as recommendations to cultivate more LGBTQ+-affirming campus SRV prevention efforts. We summarize recommendations for possible action steps at individual, relationship, community, and policy levels of the social ecological model for LGBTQ+-affirming campus SRV prevention.

Engaging Campuses in Meaningful Change Efforts to Address Relationship Violence and Sexual Misconduct: Lessons Learned From the Michigan State University Experience

Although recent decades have been marked by tremendous strides in addressing relationship violence and sexual misconduct at institutions of higher education across the country, there still exists a range of degree and meaningfulness of these changes. A key question raised by Campbell et al. in the discussion of the model developed at Michigan State University (MSU) is how to align institutional commitment with actions, as well as engage in "meaningful" change. Three aspects of the MSU model that stand out as especially critical for other institutions to consider include working toward culture change, engaging the larger campus community, and conducting an ongoing evaluation.

Sexual Assault Prevention With Student-Athletes: Exploring Perceptions of the Campus Climate and Awareness of Sexual Assault Policies and Resources

Increasing awareness of school sexual assault policies and resources is a central component of sexual assault prevention. Research suggests that the state of the campus climate impacts an individual's level of awareness, particularly for at-risk groups like student-athletes. The purpose of this study was to examine how macro factors such as participation in sexual assault prevention, perceptions of the institutional response to addressing sexual assault, and perceptions of campus staff (i.e., campus police, athletic staff, and administration) are associated with awareness of sexual assault policies and resources. Student-athletes at five National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) schools participated in a web-based survey to assess their perceptions of the campus climate and awareness of sexual assault policies and resources. The results from an ordinary least squares multiple regression model revealed that past participation in sexual assault prevention, more positive perceptions of the institutional response, and more positive perceptions of campus police and administration were associated with a greater awareness of sexual assault policies and resources while controlling for race, ethnicity, and gender. Perceptions of athletic staff was not significantly related to awareness of policies and resources. These findings demonstrate that delivering consistent messaging and engaging campus staff in sexual assault prevention provides a foundation for building a positive campus climate which, in turn, may reduce campus sexual assault.

Academic Safety Planning: Intervening to Improve the Educational Outcomes of Collegiate Survivors of Interpersonal Violence

Demonstrated impacts of intimate partner violence (IPV) and sexual assault (SA) for college students include negative outcomes related to mental, physical, emotional, and academic well-being. As a result of increasing awareness of the long-standing epidemic of IPV and SA on college campuses, Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) are expanding the services provided to survivors of IPV and SA, including campus-based advocacy services that are adapted from community models. Like community advocacy, campus-based advocacy services focus on empowerment, support, resource provision, and addressing safety needs. However, the unique context of higher education produces specific student-centered needs, including an increased focus on educational goals, academic accommodations, and safety planning. The current study seeks to shed new light on the specific foci and tasks of advocacy in the context of IHEs, related to what we call "academic safety planning," and to highlight the experience of student service recipients utilizing these forms of advocacy. Thematic analysis of 48 qualitative interviews with advocates (n = 23) and service users (n = 25) from five programs at three universities was used to discover practices applied by campus-based advocates and to understand student-survivor needs and preferences within academic safety planning. Findings reveal the core components of academic safety planning, which are: (a) Advocating for emotional and physical safety in the university context, (b) Assessing and identifying needed academic accommodations, and (c) rebuilding connections and institutional trust at school. These interviews reveal that academic safety planning has the potential to enhance the academic outcomes of survivors, which in turn could lead to important improvements in long-term personal safety, well-being, and economic security for student-survivors.

Do Party Schools Report Higher Rates of Violence Against Women in Their Clery Data? A Latent Class Analysis

The current study examined violent crimes against women among 1,384 four-year private and public college campuses using Clery Act data from 2014-2016 (i.e., rape, domestic and dating violence, stalking, and fondling). Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify five types of campuses: smaller (22%), liberal arts (25%), satellite (16%), private (19%), and party schools (18%). Smaller schools reported the lowest rates of violence against women (VAW), whereas private schools had significantly higher reported rapes. These findings have important implications for the types of campuses seem to be abiding by Clery law and reporting crimes that involve VAW.