A Review of US State and Federal Policies Related to Campus Sexual Misconduct Surveys

ABSTRACT

The administration of campus climate surveys has proliferated across the United States at institutions of higher education to help respond to sexual misconduct. This study reviews existing state legislation related to campus climate surveys and compares it to the recent federal mandate outlined in the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2022. Just under one-third of all states in the US have state laws mandating the use of campus climate surveys to assess sexual misconduct, with wide variability in laws’ scope, comprehensiveness and clarity and potential gaps in aligning with federal requirements. This has significant implications for what surveys IHE select regarding the type of research design, frequency, reporting, and cost. Keywords (3-10) campus climate, sexual misconduct, legislative mandates.

KEYWORDS:

• Campus climate
• sexual misconduct
• legislative mandates
• surveys

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sarah McMahon

Sarah McMahon, PhD., MSW, is a professor at the Rutgers School of Social Work where she is also Director of the Center for Research on Ending Violence. Her research focuses on using ecological, social-justice based frameworks to examine the prevention of interpersonal violence, as well as mechanisms for engaging individuals, communities and institutions in social change.

Sara M. Thomas

Sara M. Thomas, MEd, LMSW is PhD candidate in the Rutgers School of Social Work. She has a Master of Education in School Counseling from Texas Christian University and a Master of Social Work from New York University. Before beginning her doctoral studies, she taught first and third grades at Hill Elementary School in Arlington, TX and was a school counselor at Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas, TX. Her research interests focus on gender-based violence among high school and college students, cyber and technology-facilitated sexual violence, and the impact of societal, political, and cultural forces on campus-based sexual misconduct prevention and intervention programs.

Julia Cusano

Julia Cusano, PhD, MSW, is a postdoctoral associate at Boston University in the Occupational Therapy Department. Her research focuses on violence against women, specifically in the college population, as well as disclosure and formal help-seeking among college sexual violence survivors.

Julia Anne Maxwell

Julia Anne Maxwell, MSI, MA Ed is the Social Sciences Librarian at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. She teaches social science research skills and supports the work of scholars and students in the policy, planning, health administration, and social work fields. Her research interests lie at the intersection of libraries, learning, society, and policy. Julia is a PhD student at Rutgers University School of Communication and Information.

Allison Brachmann

Allison Brachmann is a PhD candidate in the Rutgers School of Social Work. She has a Master of Education in College Student Affairs and a Master of Social Work from Rutgers University. Prior to getting her PhD, she provided violence prevention education and victim advocacy and services to student survivors of sexual assault and dating violence in the Women’s Center at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida. Her research interests focus on gender-based violence among college students and LGBTQ students, campus service barriers for student survivors, and measurement creation and validation.

Rachel Connor

Rachel A. Connor, PhD is a Research Associate at the Center for Research on Ending Violence (REV) at the Rutgers School of Social Work. Her research applies an intersectional feminist approach to understanding how micro-level processes (e.g., sexism, gender stereotypes), as well as macro-level conditions (e.g., organizational climate, domestic violence policies) contribute to gender inequality.