Understanding views on college sexual assault from the student perspective

Title from first page of PDF file (viewed November 29, 2010)Includes bibliographical references (p. 46-50)It is estimated that one out of four students will experience rape or attempted rape during their years at college. To gain a better perspective on what sexual assault programs are needed at SDSU, this study explored the association between evidence-based, best practice models for sexual assault prevention on campus with the real-life needs of college students. A survey was created that combined both the recommendations of academic researchers and SDSU student recommendations on rape programming and was disseminated to a student organization called Survivor Outreach and Support (S.O.S.). Student recommendations (many of which were proposed by survivors of sexual assault) tended to emphasize systems needs more strongly than the academic recommendations. Students had a different and unique perspective on campus sexual assault program needs compared to academic researchers. Unlike the single programs recommended by the researchers, students sought system-wide change with comprehensive services