Americans’ Views of Efficacy toward Campus Sexual Assault Reform

ABSTRACT

Recently, the federal government and colleges have sought new remedies to combat campus sexual assault (CSA). Additionally, there have been calls for shifts in college culture. For this reason, an understanding of attitudes about these policies and reforms is needed. To that end, the study examines three questions. First, to what extent does the public view diverse CSA policies at the institutional-level as effective? Second, does the public express confidence in proposed changes to sociocultural facets of the college lifestyle presumed to be related to sexual assault perpetration and/or victimization (e.g., alcohol avoidance, more modest clothing choices, greater respect for women, and fewer casual sexual relationship)? Finally, what factors predict beliefs about the efficacy of these responses and cultural reforms? Using national poll data (N = 1,124) collected at the height of this debate, 2015, we explore these public attitudes. Implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Campus crime
• sexual assault
• student sexual victimization
• Title IX
• public opinion

Acknowledgment

Data from the current study are housed in the Roper Center for Public Opinion Research under the title, “Kaiser Family Foundation Poll: March Kaiser Health Tracking Poll—2010 Affordable Care Act/Sexual Assault Prevention of College Campuses/Health Insurance (United States) [USPSRA2015-HNI138] .” The authors thank the anonymous reviewers and editors for their constructive feedback during the revision process.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christina Mancini

Christina Mancini, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor and Assistant Chair of Criminal Justice at Virginia Commonwealth University’s L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs. She received her doctoral degree from Florida State University’s College of Criminology and Criminal Justice in 2009. Dr. Mancini has published over thirty articles in Sexual Abuse: A Journal of Research and Treatment, Criminology, Crime & Delinquency, the Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, and other crime and policy journals. Her current research examines sex offender policy, public opinion, race and perceptions about offending, and violent victimization. She is the author of two books Sex Crime, Offenders, and Society: A Critical Look at Sexual Offending and Policy (2014, Carolina Academic Press) and Campus Crime and Safety (2015, Kendall Hunt).

Kristen M. Budd

Kristen M. Budd,Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Miami University, Oxford. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from Purdue University (2011) with a specialization in Law and Society.  Her research focuses on interpersonal violence, law, and policy including how they intersect with perpetrator and victim sociodemographic characteristics.  Currently, she researches patterns and predictors of offending behavior in relation to sexual assault, public perceptions in relation to criminal behavior, law, and criminal justice policy and practice, and social and legal responses to interpersonal violence and other social problems. Her publications have appeared in Sexual Abuse, the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Crime & Delinquency, Psychology, Public Policy, & Law, and other crime and policy journals.