Campus-Based Sexual Assault: The #MeToo Movement and Students\u27 Understanding of Issues Around Consent

College students who have experienced sexual assault are at higher risk for negative impacts involving physical and mental heath. In addition, appropriate resources and positive systematic response to disclosure are pivotal in the recovery process of survivors. Empirically relevant research has focused on campus-based sexual assault and interrelationships among variables surrounding students’ attitudes towards explicit sexual consent. This cross-sectional descriptive study of 110 students enrolled in two freshman sociology classes contributes to the emerging body of research regarding the use of social media platforms to raise awareness of sexual assault by examining students’ sociodemographic characteristics, literacy using technology, rape myth acceptance, attitudes towards women, hypermasculinity, and knowledge of the #MeToo social media campaign. The current study is the first known to explore college students’ knowledge of #MeToo and any possible correlation to understanding issues around consent. Directions for future implications of social work research, practice, and policy are discussed