Campus sexual misconduct: Prevention education, training, and coordinated response teams.

Abstract

Objective: To investigate patterns of campus sexual misconduct prevention education and response coordination. Participants: Administrative staff from the campus health and wellness and the campus safety and security sectors were recruited from 830 institutions of higher education (IHEs). Methods: Each sector received a separate web-based survey module. Recipients were encouraged to consult with colleagues within their sector to provide responses. Latent class analyses of eight indicators of campus policies and protocols, as reported by the surveyed administrative staff, were conducted. Results: Analyses revealed a three-class model describing IHEs with Cross-Cutting Policies (inclusive of education and training, supported by SART/Taskforces; 63%), Prevention Education and Training Policies only (34%), or SART/Taskforces only (3%). Administrative staff from both sectors provided consistent information about protocols related to sexual misconduct prevention and response on a given campus. A majority of IHEs reported at least some prevention education as well as staff participation in coordinated response teams. Conclusion: Sexual misconduct prevention education and response coordination is reasonably widespread, and about half of IHEs reported coordination among response teams. Because sexual misconduct remains a significant problem, these structural protocols would appear to require refinement within a broader ecological approach.