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College Students and Their Knowledge and Perceptions About Sexual Assault

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Abstract

Because college women are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault, it is imperative to understand the knowledge college students possess about sexual assault. They may possess potentially problematic perceptions that contribute to the perpetuation of sexual violence. Quantitative survey data was collected from 18 to 25 year old college students as part of a larger qualitative study to examine the attitudes and beliefs about sexual assault among college students. The current research examines the knowledge college students have about sexual assault using an adapted survey. Results demonstrate that college students are inconsistent in their knowledge about sexual assault. They possess both accurate and problematic understandings of sexual assault. This data furthers our understanding of what college students believe about sexual assault. It also demonstrates a need to address problematic beliefs into current sexual assault prevention programming in order to target those attitudes that can lead to sexual violence.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Georgia, 279 Williams Street, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Adrienne Baldwin-White

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  1. Adrienne Baldwin-White
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Correspondence to Adrienne Baldwin-White.

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The author declares that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Appendix

Appendix

Knowledge Survey

Please answer the following questions with True or False.

  1. 1.

    Rape is only about sexual gratification. [F]

  2. 2.

    Rapes are rarely reported to the police. [T]

  3. 3.

    The way a woman is dressed or the fact that she is drunk is often why she is raped. [F]

  4. 4.

    Spouses cannot sexually assault each other. [F]

  5. 5.

    A victim usually knows the perpetrator who committed the sexual assault. [T]

  6. 6.

    Victims who have been sexually assaulted may be very calm and controlled. [T]

  7. 7.

    The culture of violence that we live in contributes to sexual violence. [T]

  8. 8.

    Men can’t help themselves. Once they are sexually aroused, they cannot stop. [F]

  9. 9.

    If a person willingly goes to someone’s room or house or goes to a bar, she/he assumes the risk of sexual assault. The perpetrator can’t be blamed for anything that happens. [F]

  10. 10.

    Women who don’t actually try to fight the man have not been raped. [F]

  11. 11.

    A weapon isn’t necessary for rape to occur. [T]

  12. 12.

    If a woman says “no”, she means “maybe” or is just playing hard to get. [F]

  13. 13.

    Women often lie about being raped. [F]

  14. 14.

    Certain behaviors, such as drinking or dressing in a sexually appealing way, make rape a woman’s responsibility. [F]

  15. 15.

    If a woman agrees to allow a man to pay for dinner, drinks, etc., it means she owes him sex. [F]

  16. 16.

    Rape is a pervasive problem in the US. It only affects a few thousand women per year. [T]

  17. 17.

    Alcohol and other drugs are often used in rapes of college women. [T]

  18. 18.

    Rape is committed by crazy, lonely, sexually unfulfilled men. [F]

  19. 19.

    Sexual assault represents the most rapidly growing violent crime in America. [T]

  20. 20.

    Looking attractive or sexy may have no connection to raping a woman. [T]

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Baldwin-White, A. College Students and Their Knowledge and Perceptions About Sexual Assault. Sexuality & Culture 25, 58–74 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09757-x

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