Public Perceptions of Campus Sexual Assault Mandatory Reporting Policy Approaches: Considering the Consequences on Victim-Survivors

ABSTRACT

Mandatory reporting (MR) policies have been implemented at universities and colleges across the US. While described as a tool to combat campus sexual assault, there is great concern about MR policies which require responsible employees to report to a university official and its adverse effects on victim-survivors. Using a survey of the general public, this research analyzes public perceptions evaluating three types of MR policy approaches – universal, selective, and student-directed. Descriptively, over half of the respondents said they supported universal MR followed by student-directed MR. Multinomial logistic regression results showed that when the public considers the consequences of MR on victim-survivors, the odds of supporting universal MR decrease while the odds of supporting student-directed MR increases. Findings suggest the public is more nuanced in their assessment of MR policy approaches when asked to consider the implications of those policies on victim-survivors.

KEYWORDS:

• Campus sexual assault
• mandatory reporting
• public opinion
• title IX
• victim

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1. Title IX applies to schools and educational programs that receive federal government funding.

2. “Victim-survivor” recognizes individuals varied CSA experiences. When the term “victim” is used it refers to language used within research publications and survey instruments.

3. Disclosure and reporting are two different phenomena (Holland et al., 2021). Students may disclose in order to seek support and resources, but disclosure does not mean students want to officially report to the university or college.

4. Internal Review Board approval #03541e. The informed consent statement was embedded within the survey. Participants could opt in/out after reading the informed consent statement.

5. Due to funding, the survey was only offered in English.

6. Definitions from Holland et al. (2019) were modified to a shorter length to reduce cognitive load on survey respondents.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Miami University’s Undergraduate Research Award;

Notes on contributors

Kristen M. Budd

Kristen M. Budd, Ph.D., is a Research Analyst at The Sentencing Project. Her research focuses on crimes of a sexual nature, 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. She has authored over 25 peer-reviewed articles.

Shelby Frye

Shelby Frye, B.A., is a graduate of Miami University (2020), who double majored in Sociology and Political Science. Currently, she is working on earning her Master’s of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.