The Public Face of Responses to Campus Sexual Assault: A National Study of College Websites

• In Event: Poster Session I

Abstract

In the last decade, there has been increased attention paid to college and university responses to sexual assault. When a college student is sexually assaulted, one of the first places they may turn to for information is their college’s website. As such, information available on a college’s website may be an important factor in victim decision-making regarding help-seeking and reporting. This study utilizes data from webpages of a national random sample of 969 four year colleges to examine approaches to reporting, investigation, and adjudication of campus sexual assault. Results include what kinds of information typically can and cannot be located on college websites, detail on reporting, investigation, and adjudication processes, and if these vary by institutional characteristics (e.g., public versus private versus religiously affiliated, size of institution). Given the importance of information for victims when deciding whether to report a campus sexual assault, the poster also includes pointers on how schools can conduct a self-assessment of their webpage. Recommendations include integrating students from the institution in the self-assessment, using a Google search box instead of an internal search feature, and including all the relevant information and policies on the public website versus via password protected access for campus community members.

Authors

• Alison C Cares, Assumption College & Wellesley Centers for Women

• April Pattavina, University of Massachusetts Lowell

• Linda M. Williams, Wellesley Centers for Women

• Nan Stein, Wellesley Centers for Women