Assessing Risk Factors of Sexual Assault Victimization on College Campuses

Lindsay Kahle Semprevivo, Kathryn Burnham, and Wren King*

Department of Sociology and Anthropology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26505

Presentation Category: Behavioral & Social Sciences (Poster Presentation #77)

Student’s Major: Anthropology, Women's and Gender Studies, and Geography

On average, 20% to 25% of women and 6% of men in college will experience some form of sexual assault. Research focusing on college campus sexual assault often focuses on how social context plays a role in assault prevention, yet few studies have focused on identity factors in this context. We seek to consider this issue through the utilization of the Campus Climate Survey conducted by the Association of American Universities. The data were collected using a web-based survey, between April and May 2015, at 27 universities across the US. The total sample included 150,380 undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. A series of logistic regressions were utilized to test several factors, including age, classification, and sex on victimization, with a specific focus on the intersections of gender, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity. Results show that citizenship, disability, females or LGBQ+ identities, being a woman of color, and campus climate all contribute to higher odds of experiencing sexual assault. There is little to no research on the victimization of international students and students with registered disabilities, but our findings show that it is an issue that must be addressed as these individuals are not being well-served by their institutions. Implications are discussed within the context of West Virginia and the nation at large.

Funding:

Program/mechanism supporting research/creative efforts: WVU's SURE program