Understanding College Sexual Assault Victims’ Perspectives of Disclosure to Informal or Formal Resources

• In Event: Poster Session II

Abstract

There has been a considerable amount of research examining the need for and use of sexual assault resources on college campuses. However, in depth research is needed to examine the processes that motivate a sexual assault victim to disclose their victimization to informal or formal resources or not at all. Prior literature has shown that factors such as alcohol and drug use by the victim, availability and promotion of on-campus resources, and the environment of the college campus in general can be factors that affect if a student would report sexual assault victimization. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of institutional and situational factors that influence reporting behavior by sexual assault victims on college campuses. The implications of this research can help inform the necessity for institutions to make changes to their prevention and reactive measures in regards to sexual assault. Sexual assault is a prevalent issue on college campuses and so are the issues of underreporting, re-victimization, and institutional betrayal. This research seeks to help alleviate some of these issues by examining disclosure behavior.

Author

• Kaity Foster, West Virginia University