An examination of the disparity between self-identified versus legally identified rape victimization: A pilot study

ABSTRACT

Objective: Researchers compared rape victimization based on self-identification to the current federal legal definition in a pilot study of college students. Methods: The sample was comprised of 1,648 (69.8% female; 30.2% male) college students who completed the Sexual Experiences Survey—Short Form Victimization (SES-SFV) online. Results: Based on the current legal definition of rape, 9.4% (11.1% female; 5.2% male) of students had been raped since being enrolled, but only 2.9% of students self-identified as being raped. Moreover, 15.1% of students reported ever being raped, with females acknowledging higher rates (19.7%) than males (4.3%). Conclusions: Rape continues to be a major issue for colleges and universities. A serious concern is the disparity between the number of those who met the behavioral criteria for rape victimization based on the current legal definition, but who did not self-identify as a victim. Universities must address this disparity by using multiple measures to assess the prevalence of sexual violence on campus.

KEYWORDS:

• College students
• gender
• rape
• sexual assault

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 and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Kennesaw State University.

Funding

No funding was used to support this research and/or the preparation of the manuscript.