Prevention of sexual violence among college students: Current challenges and future directions

Abstract

Objective Preventing sexual violence among college students is a public health priority. This paper was catalyzed by a summit convened in 2018 to review the state of the science on campus sexual violence prevention. We summarize key risk and vulnerability factors and campus-based interventions, and provide directions for future research pertaining to campus sexual violence. Results and Conclusions: Although studies have identified risk factors for campus sexual violence, longitudinal research is needed to examine time-varying risk factors across social ecological levels (individual, relationship, campus context/broader community and culture) and data are particularly needed to identify protective factors. In terms of prevention, promising individual and relational level interventions exist, including active bystander, resistance, and gender transformative approaches; however, further evidence-based interventions are needed, particularly at the community-level, with attention to vulnerability factors and inclusion for marginalized students.

Keywords:

• campus sexual violence
• marginalized students
• prevention
• risk factors

Acknowledgments

Meredith L. Philyaw-Kotov, Jessica S. Roche, & Bethany Pollock.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of the United States of America.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a grant to the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention Award Number R49-CE-002099. Dr. Coker was supported by funding from the CDC under Grant #U01CE15003; and by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human #R01HD075783. Dr. Ngo was also supported by funding from the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development under Grant #R03HD087520; and by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) under Grant #K23AA022641. Dr. Senn was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research through a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Sexual Violence and Project grants. Dr. Thompson was supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health (NIH) under Grant #R15HD065568 and #R03HD053444-01A1. Drs. Miller and McCauley were supported by the NIAAA under Grant #R01AA023260. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the funders, the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, or the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).