Examining the Prevalence of, and the Factors Associated with, Sexual Assault among Colombian College Students

• In Event: Campus Sexual Assault

Abstract

While the prevalence and risk factors of sexual assault among college students are well understood in the United States, little is known about campus sexual assault in Latin America. Our study examined the prevalence of sexual assault and associated risk and protective factors among graduate and undergraduate students in Bogota, Colombia. Participants were 3,534 male and female students from a middle-size university in Bogota, who were administered an adapted version of the Campus Climate Survey (CCS) and the AMMSA scale. Results from this unique data set show very high rates of sexual harassment during the past 12 months (more than 60%) and similar rates to the U.S. in terms of sexual assault since entering college. Results also show higher rates of self-report perpetration of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the past 12 months than previous studies. Consistent with the international literature, female students experience higher levels of victimization, and many risk and protective factors are gender- specific. These findings have implications for developing organizational policies in a highly patriarchal society, where addressing sexual violence in college campuses is a new and challenging initiative.

Authors

• Monica Perez-Trujillo, University of Los Andes, Colombia

• Ana Lucia Jaramillo, University of Los Andes, Colombia