Campus Sexual Assault Climate Survey Methodologies and Findings

• In Event: Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence Among College Students in the U.S.: A Closer Look at Prevalence, Impact, and Characteristics of Reporting

Abstract

At the recommendation of a White House taskforce, many colleges and universities have conducted climate surveys to generate reliable data about student experiences of sexual violence that can be used to inform campus programming. This study examines 105 publicly available campus climate reports in order to assess the methodology used and to examine trends in the results. The mean sample size for the climate surveys reviewed was 2747.5, with a total of 269,219 students surveyed. Most campuses used census sampling and the mean response rate was 26.7%. While sexual violence was the most commonly reported type of victimization (n=102), 87 campuses also reported sexual harassment victimization rates, 66 reported domestic violence victimization rates, and 61 reported stalking victimization rates. Only 6 campuses reported on the prevalence of sexual violence perpetration behavior. On average, only 10.3% of victims made formal reports. Students were more likely to report to friends and family, consistent with existing literature on victim help-seeking behavior. The mean percentage of victims who did not tell anyone was 27.3. The ability to compare data across surveys is limited by significant methodological inconsistencies and the implications of this for campus efforts and cross-campus comparisons will be discussed.

Authors

• Carrie A. Moylan, Michigan State University

• Jenna Randall, Michigan State University

• Courtney Hatfield, Michigan State University