ABSTRACT

Although sexual assault and sexual assault prevention programs have a long history on college campuses, the problem has only recently received national atten - tion, primarily due to student activism, federal intervention, and media attention. A recent study of 27 institutions of higher education (IHE) found that 16.5% of college seniors across all surveyed universities experienced sexual contact involving penetration or sexual touching as a result of physical force or incapacitation since entering IHE (The Association of American Universities, 2015). The study revealed that nonconsensual sexual contact by force or incapacitation varied across college campuses and by demographics with rates higher for undergraduates than graduate or professional students; higher for cisgender women and transgender, gender queer, or nonconforming (TGQN) individuals than for cisgender men; and higher for freshmen than for seniors (AAU, 2015).