DATA ON SEXUAL ASSAULT FROM THE FIRST 2 YEARS OF A COMPREHENSIVE CAMPUS PREVENTION PROGRAM

Since 1991, student affairs personnel on one university campus have im plemented a comprehensive sexual assault prevention program that inclu des educational initiatives, revision of policies and protocols, modif ication of judicial hearings, and collection of data about incidents o f sexual assault. In the first 2 years of the program, 65 separate inc idents were reported, providing the lar est single database yet report ed by one campus. These incidents consisted of 43 rapes, 18 other sexu al assaults, and 4 cases in which the nature of the incident was not i ndicated. Most of the assaults occurred on weekends, and slightly less than half of the incidents occurred on campus. In 25% of the on-campu s assaults, the assailant used no identifiable form of pressure. Three quarters of the off-campus and seven eighths of the on-campus cases i nvolved perpetrators who were known to the victims. In the on-campus s ituations, first-year students were found to be particularly vulnerabl e. Approximately one third of all victims were incapacitated because o f alcohol consumption. Limitations of the study and implications of th e findings are discussed, along with suggestions for prevention progra mming.