Study Abroad Increases Risk for Sexual Assault in Female Undergraduates: A Preliminary Report

Since 2007, more than 250,000 American students have studied abroad annually for a semester or more. While there are obvious benefits associated with study abroad programs, personal risks (including interpersonal victimization such as sexual and physical assault) occurring during the experience have been anecdotally reported but not systematically assessed. This study is the first to investigate the possibility of increased risk for sexual assault in female undergraduates while abroad. Two hundred eighteen female undergraduates completed a modified version of the Sexual Experiences Survey (SES: Koss et al., 2007) about their sexual experiences abroad and on campus. Findings indicate increased risk for sexual assault while abroad relative to on-campus rates, particularly in non-English speaking countries. Study abroad programs should consider educating students about increased risk and develop response protocols when sexual assaults happen while abroad.

Locational and Temporal Risk Associated With Campus Sexual Assault

The present study investigates the rates of victimization of sexual assault reported by undergraduates at Bucknell University. Specifically, the study aimed to determine where and when sexual assault took place, in order to pinpoint both temporal risks and locational risks associated with certain events on campus. Results of the survey were analyzed for victimization rates across class year, time of year, where victimization took place, as well as where victims and perpetrators met. Data for the study was gathered by means of anonymous survey, sent out to 1752 randomly selected undergraduates via email. Participants filled out the survey which asked if they had ever been sexually assaulted or committed a sexual assault during their past year studying at Bucknell. The results of the survey indicated that dormitories, fraternity houses, and off-campus student houses displayed significantly higher rates of victimization than other locations. In addition, increased risk of unwanted sexual contact in the fall semester was shown to be statistically significant. Moreover, results of the current study support that parties were statistically significant locations for meeting perpetrators of sexual assault. The results suggest that it may be beneficial to direct special attention towards campus sexual assault, specifically to certain locations, times of the year, and campus activities.

Do College Women Facilitate the Sexual Assault of Their Same-Gender Peers?

National studies indicate that approximately 25 percent of women have been sexually assaulted by the time they finish college. Although male peers are often the perpetrators, women also engage in behaviors with their female peers that may increase the risk of sexualassault. In the present study, we sought to determine how often college women engaged in these behaviors (i.e. “female facilitation”). Participants were 373 female students (sophomorethrough senior; Greek and independent) who completed an online survey containing measures of sexual assault, alcohol consumption, and female facilitation. The female facilitation measure indexed both “facilitator” behaviors (those directed toward others thatlikely increase the risk of sexual assault victimization) and “facilitatee” behaviors (those that may increase risk of sexual assault victimization), and the two sets of items werecounterbalanced across participants. Descriptive statistics showed an overall prevalence rate for any type of sexual assault was 44.2%. Scores on the facilitator and facilitatee versions ofthe female facilitation measure were highly correlated. Facilitation was highly correlated with alcohol consumption, and being a faciltatee was moderately correlated with sexual assault. Results were consistent with some of our expectations regarding the relationships among facilitation, alcohol consumption, sexual assault, and demographic variables. Limitations of the methods and the implications of the findings for understanding campussexual assault will be discussed.