Association of the Campus Program Grant and Institutional Characteristics on Reporting of On-Campus Sexual Violence Crimes

Abstract

The Office on Violence Against Women’s Grants to Reduce Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, Dating Violence, and Stalking on Campus Program (Campus Program) grants provide higher education institutions with funding, technical training, and support to address sexual violence on college campuses. The aim of this investigation is to determine the association between the implementation of the Campus Program grants on reporting Clery Act Forcible Sex offenses (rape and fondling) and Violence Against Women Act offenses (domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking). A secondary aim is to examine the institutional characteristics related to incidents of reporting. The sample of institutions included grant recipients from fiscal years 2015, 2016, and 2017 with less than 10,000 students and a Carnegie classification as baccalaureate colleges or master’s colleges and universities (N = 63). Linear regression models controlling for institutional variables were used to estimate the Campus Program grant implementation’s causal effects on crime reporting from 2014 to 2021. The sample institutions experienced a significant increase in reports of rape (p = .003), fondling (p = .001), and dating violence (p < .001) during grant implementation years. In addition, all institutional characteristics used as covariates significantly affected one or more reported sexual violence crimes. Institutions should expect an increase in sexual violence reporting during the Campus Program grant implementation years. In addition, the study adds to the limited research on the institutional characteristics associated with sexual violence crime reporting. The results support that when addressing sexual violence, institutions need to consider the individual and campus-level factors, the inclusion of a diverse group of campus partners, and crime-specific interventions.

Keywords

college/university sexual assault prevention support seeking

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