Developing and implementing survivor-centred approaches for college student-athletes: perspectives from athletic department, Title IX, and campus advocacy personnel

ABSTRACT

Background: Sexual violence (SV) is a persistent issue on US college campuses, particularly among college student-athletes. Strategies to address SV are urgently needed. Yet, prior research shows that many university practices can be more harmful than helpful to SV survivors and necessitates a reimagination of how institutions support SV survivors. Survivor-centred approaches may be one way to effectively address SV for students, including student-athletes, across college campuses.

Objective: This qualitative study explored campus personnel experiences with and perceptions of survivor-centred SV prevention and intervention policies and practices on college campuses and examined how these approaches serve SV survivors, including college student-athletes.

Methods: As part of a larger study on campus SV and student-athletes across four institutions, semi-structured interviews with 22 representatives from athletic departments, campus advocacy, and Title IX were conducted. Guided by phenomenology, a thematic analysis approach was used to identify key patterns in survivor-centred SV prevention and intervention policies and practices. Participant demographic data were analysed descriptively.

Results: Most participants identified as white (72.2%), heterosexual (63.6%), women (68.2%), and were an average of 41.8 years old (SD = 10.2). The majority were in positions associated with athletic departments (63.6%), and they had been in their role for an average of 5.6 years (SD = 6.6). Through thematic analysis, three main themes were identified: (1) education & accessibility; (2) interpersonal relationships & individual well-being; and (3) campus and societal norms.

Conclusions: The findings from this study highlight clear policy and practice recommendations for survivor-centred SV prevention and intervention on college campuses, such as accessible, applicable SV training and the implementation of survivor-centred approaches. Further research is needed to understand existing survivor-centred practices and the facilitators and barriers to their implementation across institutions and within athletic departments.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Sexual violence is a persistent issue on US college campuses, particularly among college student-athletes. Strategies to address SV are urgently needed. Survivor-centred approaches may offer solutions to better serve survivors of sexual violence, including student-athletes.

• Through interviews with athletic department, Title IX, and campus advocacy personnel, three themes were identified related to developing and implementing survivor-centred approaches: (1) education & accessibility; (2) interpersonal relationships & individual well-being; and (3) campus and societal norms.

• Further research is needed to understand existing survivor-centred practices and the facilitators and barriers to their implementation across institutions, particularly for college student-athletes.

Antecedentes: La violencia sexual (VS) es un problema persistente en los campus universitarios de EE.UU., especialmente entre los estudiantes-atletas universitarios. Se necesitan urgentemente estrategias para hacer frente a la VS. Sin embargo, investigaciones previas muestran que muchas prácticas universitarias pueden ser más perjudiciales que útiles para los sobrevivientes de la VS y requiere una repensar cómo las instituciones apoyan a los sobrevivientes de VS. Los enfoques centrados en el sobreviviente pueden ser una forma de abordar eficazmente la VS para los estudiantes, incluidos los estudiantes-atletas, en todos los campus universitarios.

Objetivo: Este estudio cualitativo exploró las experiencias y percepciones del personal del campus sobre las políticas y prácticas de prevención e intervención de la VS centradas en el sobreviviente en los campus universitarios y examinó cómo estos enfoques sirven a los sobrevivientes de la VS, incluidos los estudiantes universitarios-atletas.

Métodos: Como parte de un estudio más amplio sobre la violencia doméstica en los campus y los estudiantes atletas de cuatro instituciones, se realizaron entrevistas semiestructuradas a 22 representantes de los departamentos de deportes, apoyo del campus y del Título IX. Guiado por la fenomenología, se utilizó un enfoque de análisis temático para identificar patrones clave en las políticas y prácticas de prevención e intervención de la violencia sexual centrada en los sobrevivientes. Los datos demográficos de los participantes se analizaron de forma descriptiva.

Resultados: La mayoría de los participantes se identificaron como blancos (72,2%), heterosexuales (63,6%), mujeres (68,2%) y tenían una media de 41,8 años (DE = 10,2). La mayoría ocupaba puestos relacionados con departamentos de atletismo (63,6%) y llevaba en su puesto una media de 5,6 años (DE = 6,6). A través del análisis temático, se identificaron tres temas principales: (1) educación y accesibilidad; (2) relaciones interpersonales y bienestar individual; y (3) campus y normas sociales.

Conclusiones: Los resultados de este estudio ponen de relieve recomendaciones claras en materia de políticas y prácticas para la prevención e intervención de la VS centrada en el sobreviviente en los campus universitarios, como la capacitación accesible y aplicable en materia de VS y la aplicación de enfoques centrados en el sobreviviente. Se necesita más investigación para comprender las prácticas centradas en el sobreviviente existentes y los facilitadores y barreras para su implementación en todas las instituciones y dentro de los departamentos deportivos.

KEYWORDS:

• Sexual violence
• college campuses
• student-athletes
• reporting
• prevention

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Violencia sexual
• campus universitarios
• estudiantes-atletas
• denuncia
• prevención

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the university and athletic department personnel who participated in this study and shared their experiences and perspectives with us as well as their athletic departments who were willing to participate. We would like to express immense gratitude to Lydia Bell, PhD and Kelsey Gurganus, MPH at the NCAA for their assistance in facilitating this research, and Brian Hainline, MD, Frederick P. Rivara, MD, MPH, and Stanley A. Herring, MD for their support of this research.

Author Contributions

AE, AA, and EK conceived and designed the study. Material preparation, interviews, and data collection were performed by AE, AA, and AG. Qualitative analyses were conducted by AE, AB, AA, RR, AM. All authors contributed to all versions of the manuscript and read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are not publicly available to protect the privacy of study participants. The corresponding author will consider reasonable requests from researchers but may not be able to provide data used in these analyses to protect the privacy of both study participants and participating institutions.

Additional information

Funding

This study was awarded an Exploratory Research Project grant administered by the Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center and funded by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Injury & Health Equity across the Lifespan (R49CE003087). The views expressed in this report are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funders or the research partners. The funder was not involved in the study conception, design, analysis, manuscript drafting, or submission decision.