College Sexual Assault and Campus Climate for Sexual- and Gender-Minority Undergraduate Students

Abstract

Sexual- and gender-minority (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) undergraduate students are at greater risk for sexual assault victimization than their cisgender (i.e., nontransgender) heterosexual peers. However, few studies have examined how social environments affect sexual assault victimization among sexual- and gender-minority undergraduate students. Nevertheless, this research area was identified as a priority by the Institute of Medicine as well as President Barack Obama’s White House Task Force to Protect Students From Sexual Assault. Therefore, we tested the association between college campuses’ inclusion of sexual- and gender-minority people and experiences of sexual assault victimization. Cross-sectional surveys were completed by sexual- and gender-minority undergraduate students (N = 1,925) from higher education institutions in all 50 U.S. states in 2010. Our dependent variable was experiencing sexual assault victimization at college. Our primary independent variable was campus climate, measured with items assessing perceived inclusion of sexual- and gender-minority people and witnessing sexual- or gender-minority harassment. We used multivariable logistic regression with generalized estimating equations (accounting for the clustering of students within schools) to estimate the association between campus climate and experiencing sexual assault victimization. Overall, 5.2% of the sample reported ever being victims of sexual assault at college. Controlling for sexual orientation, gender identity, race/ethnicity, and year in school, greater perceived inclusion of sexual- and gender-minority people on campus was associated with significantly lower odds of experiencing sexual assault victimization. Our study suggests that improving campus climate for sexual- and gender-minority individuals may reduce their prevalence of college sexual assault, which has potential implications for college practitioners and administrators as well as sexual assault prevention programs and policies.

Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression-Based Violence in Catalan Universities: Qualitative Findings from University Students and Staff

“…Apart from the institutional validation, the research counted with an Advisory Board which supervised, followed-up and advise the research team in three different phases: approbation of the literature review, eldwork plan and preliminary results of the study. This board was composed by members of the LGBTQI + community, university students and representatives of active organizations for LGBTQI + rights of the territory 4 . Their belonging to the targeted community was due to the need of including the voices of the end-users of the research throughout the whole process of the research.…”

“…Research have shown that transgender people are the most probable to have di culties and more probabilities to suffer violence or discrimination at HEI's (4)(5)(6). This form of vulnerability in the university context is even more disturbing when the results show the complexity and accumulation of forms of violence that only transgender studies suffer.…”

“…Violence based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression is present in our society and it also exists within the university community. Numerous international studies have shown that lesbian, gay, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI+) community have more risk and probabilities to suffer sexual discrimination or harassment during their university trajectory (1)(2)(3) and the risk of being object of violence increases in the case of transgender students (4)(5)(6). National politics and international agendas have prioritized the legislation and regulation to end with LGBTQI-phobia (7,8), even though the risk of suffering sexual harassment is still higher in the case of sexual minorities (1,6,9,10).…”

Differences in Rape Acknowledgement and Mental Health Outcomes across Transgender, Non-binary, and Cisgender Bisexual Youth

“…Empirical support for this theory in examining vulnerability for sexual violence is building. For example, experiences of discrimination mediate vulnerability for dating violence in bisexual young adults (Martin-Storey & Fromme, 2017), perceived inclusion of LGBTQ people is related to lower rates of sexual violence on college campuses (Coulter & Rankin, 2017), and individual feelings of connectedness to the LGBTQ community are related to lower individual vulnerability for violence (Murchison et al, 2016).…”

Restorative responses to campus sexual harm: promising practices and challenges

“…Research finds, for example, that white female students are less likely to intervene to prevent a sexual assault of a Black female victim then is the case when the victim is white (Katz, Merrilees, Hoxmeier & Motisi, 2017). Coulter and Rankin (2017) found that LGBT students who attend schools that rank lower on measures of LGBT student inclusion report higher rates of sexual assault than do students who attend schools that are more inclusive.…”