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Sam Schmitt
SOC 5330: Sex and Sexuality
5 May 2017
Organization
I volunteered with the Hamline Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force, which bled over
to a lot of work with our Title IX office. The Task Force was created in 2015, and seeks to create
procedures, and programming for prevention. Ideally, this work reflects an expectation of
nonviolence, respect, safety, and care for all members of the Hamline community.
Title IX is an amendment that was signed into law on June 23rd, 1972. It originally
prohibited sex discrimination in any educational program or activity receiving any type of
federal financial aid. It is most known for its work in allowing women to participate in
collegiate athletics at an equal level to men; however, it is important to note that all forms of
sexual harassment, violence, stalking, and interpersonal violence are also covered by this
amendment.
Through my volunteer time with these organizations, I helped shape and market the 2017
programming on college campuses, specifically on how to get programming and what are the
best practices. Sexual violence is inherently an issue of power and control, and more specifically
an issue of how our social norms train masculinity and relationship expectations. Most sexual
violence prevention programming aims to rewire the social codes that many men and women
have, specifically to look for active consent and eliminate power imbalances in relationships.
trauma. By understanding how to best implement prevention training, we can work to eliminate
Because this is such a vast topic, I chose to focus on Hamline when researching climate
surveys, and to look at national examples on effectiveness and best practices for prevention
programs. I interviewed staff and faculty who oversaw both the current climate survey (t. aaron
hans) and the community based climate survey over the past three years (Dr. Kristin Mapel
Bloomberg). I also used research from ARC3, the company that has administered the 2017
climate survey. To study national trends in prevention programs, and get a small amount of
information on other sexual violence surveys, I looked to scholarly studies and meta-analyses of
those programs.
My final research question is: How can we optimize sexual violence prevention
Most studies in this field agree that programming is effective, but is still struggling to understand
what is the most effective method, and how that can be achieved. The biggest competing theory
is if single gender or mixed gender programming is most effective; the articles I have researched
have different conclusions on this. Additionally, prior research could be made stronger by having
data over a longer period of time, but this is limited as sexual violence prevention work is
relatively new.
At Hamline, students who are victims of sexual violence may receive sanctions from the
Title IX office, and may file a conduct report against their assailant. Sexual violence or any other
The process of reporting is handled by a board made of staff and faculty, a Title IX coordinator,
and an investigator. Decisions are made based on preponderance, meaning what is more likely to
have happened. Our campus has resources in the Counselling and Health Services office, Title
IX, the Womens Resource Center, and more. We also have programs such as Green Dot, and
organizations like Students Preventing Sexual Violence and VOICE to combat and heal from
sexual violence.
Nationally, rape and sexual violence are seen as criminal sex crimes that can be
recommended to to a court of law. When a report is made, a county sex crimes detective will
collect evidence (often over a period of months) and recommend that case for trial, where the
prosecutor will take on the assailant if they find the case has enough evidence to convict. Here,
the prosecutor must prove that the assailant committed the crime beyond a reasonable doubt in
order for a conviction to take place. As for reporting, the Clery Act and Violence Against Women
Act requires annual reports of criminal offense statistics from colleges and universities- however,
no surveying data is required. Most counties offer rape crisis centers, but little education work is
aaron and I discussed the differences between the community based climate surveys that
have happened at Hamline between 2014-2016, and the current survey that is administered
through the Title IX office. Most importantly to him, the data from this years survey can be
linked to other institutions, and the University has access to all raw data and questions, making it
easier to pitch a case based on the data given. Additionally, when the survey is administered by
a university, they can be sure to include questions around data they want to find answers to- as
seen this year, the climate survey included more questions about stalking and our campus attitude
around alcohol.
aaron and I also discussed the role of climate survey data in change on campus. Over the
past three years, he and Patti Klein (Title IX Coordinator at Hamline University) used data
published from previous surveys to reformat training for first year students, and specifically
training on how students understand the reporting process and Title IX office. This showed
positive results, with an increase in percentage of students who could identify who the Title IX
coordinators are and where they are located. aaron also noted that, while data from climate
surveys can be used to provide reasoning for an increase or change in prevention programming,
the results are not seen immediately, and often need to be supplemented for larger change with
This interview was helpful to understand the logistics of how climate surveys are used, as
well as the tangible change Hamline has made over the years.
Interview with Dr. Kristin Mapel Bloomberg:
Dr. Bloomberg worked with two undergraduate students between 2014 and 2016 to
administer a campus climate survey each year, formed as an independent study. While the survey
had common goals of capturing baseline data of knowledge, incidence, and prevalence, Dr.
Bloomberg believes the biggest goals of a climate survey like this is to get the information out to
students, staff, and faculty to show that Hamline is no different than the rest of the nation.
Similar to my interview with aaron, we discussed how climate surveys can and should be
used to direct prevention programming. This kind of data can be used as a tool to show all of
campus that there is a problem, and more importantly can direct the funds and/or what we do as a
campus to respond.
My interview with Dr. Bloomberg provided knowledge that made me feel more
comfortable comparing the community based and institutionalized climate surveys, both in what
This document states that the purpose of campus climate surveys is to go beyond
assessing the incidence and prevalence of sexual misconduct, but should act as a guide for
success of policies, procedures, and prevention programs. It also goes further to note that this
survey hopes to identify reasons that sexual misconduct happens, and potential factors, attitudes,
While ARC3 did an effective job discussing guiding principles and objectives, the rest of
the document and information provided is related to the technical execution, layout, and possible
outcomes of the climate survey. This omits the understanding of potential change, and could
Anderson and Whiston take over sixty studies and use methods to analyze each for the
effectiveness of seven different outcome measures for sexual assault education programs. Each
outcome was granted a certain number of effect sizes, or amount of effectiveness in results.
This was calculated into mean effect size, quantifying the average positive change in each
1. Rape knowledge had a mean effect size of 0.57, indicating that those who
participated in the program had higher factual knowledge about rape and sexual assault as
programming had a positive influence and decreased rape attitudes (such as victim
These were the only two behaviors that statistically qualified as having a reasonable
effect size, but the categories for behavioral intentions (or intentions/inclinations to commit
violence), rape-related attitudes, and incidence of sexual assault all changed positively in a
statistically significant way; 0.14, 0.12, and 0.10 respectively. Based on the studies that Anderson
and Whiston analyzed, sexual assault programming did not have significant impact on rape
This study was very statistically thorough, and provided a large insight on many different
programs and what our nation overall shows is effective. This research is useful in showing the
positive change that programs have, as well as potential areas to target in order to have a holistic
prevention approach.
Victimization Rates:
Rothman and Silverman used this study to understand how introducing prevention-based
programming to orientation for first-year students could limit the possibility of sexual violence
for the following year. This was done by implementing a 90-minute dramatic presentation into
orientation for the new students in the class of 2006, as well as a two-hour sexual assault
education workshop the following November. As a control group, the class of 2006 (that had not
received any prevention programming) took a survey at the same time that the younger class was
receiving programming. One year later, the class of 2007 took this same survey in order to have
similar methodologies and reference periods. As a result of this survey, victimization decreased
by 5%, from 17% to 12%, giving a causal link between sexual violence prevention programming
This survey did ask about alcohol use, as most climate surveys would do, but did not ask
anything other related to campus attitudes towards sexual assault and violence. However, this
does show the effectiveness of continued programming towards sexual violence prevention, and
Sexual Assault Programming on College Campuses: Using Social Psychological Belief and
Paul and Grey conduct a meta-study of programming effectiveness, and briefly conclude
that data shows the most effective programs are longer interventions, delivered in various modes
facilitated by professionals, and hopefully target behavioral change.They also study three
psychological trends that contribute to sexual victimization in hopes of describing factors that
contribute to campus violence, as well as places to focus prevention efforts: social norms that
encourage male dominance, cognitive dissonance between how survivors act and how they are
expected to act (hypocrisy salience), and decision and deterrence theories that describe
individuals making choices based upon information they have, and based on maximizing benefits
and reducing negative consequences- almost trying to justify sexual assault. These three areas
were prevalent in all programs, and provide direction on how to focus future programming.
This source was commissioned by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) and the Bureau
of Justice Statistics (BJS) in 2000 to research the incidence and prevalence of sexual violence on
college campuses. These departments created a survey titled the National College Women Sexual
Victimization (NCWSV) study, and compared it to the most accurate survey at the time, the
National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which studied violence of other natures as well.
The strength of this study was the illumination of survey methods; for example, on page
12, the authors discuss the only methodological difference between the two surveys. The
NCWSV used behaviorally specific screen questions, asking about about the situation rather than
if the respondent had been raped in order to get more accurate statistics. Significantly, the
number of women who reported to be victims of completed rape increased by over 900% (from
0.16% to 1.7%), and the number of women who reported to be victims of attempted rape
increased by over 600% (0.18% to 1.1%). This shows a clear indication that more women
experience sexual violence than those who self report, and that behaviorally based screen
questions are more accurate in attaining that knowledge. Similar to what we would see in a
climate survey now, the NCWSV also asked about risk factors associated with sexual violence,
Overall, the NCWSV found that 2.8% of the sample (almost 4,500 college-aged women,
gender diversity being a flaw in the study) experienced attempted or completed rape within the
first six months of that school year- much lower than the normal statistic we see of one in four.
However, the way that the authors framed this data is misleading. This data only studies a
reference period of six months; if inflated over the traditional four years, this would be very
My studies showed the intricacies to both climate surveys and sexual violence prevention
programming. Change in these areas take at least a year to implement and analyze, leading to a
slow process in finding positive results. Additionally, the way the survey is administered is
important. There are pros and cons to having the survey institutionalized, for consistency of data
but also response rates. The length of the survey, and questions involved, should be framed to ask
about behaviors rather than asking specifically about incidents, and should be done in the least
The scholarly articles that I analyzed indicated that sexual violence prevention
programming can easily be effective in not only incident prevention, but change in attitudes
around sexual violence. However, it is important to have effective programming that extends
over a longer reference period, meaning the message is reinforced over time. Research also
showed specific areas to target in prevention, such as fighting social norms that encourage male
dominance, knowledge about rape empathy or rape awareness behaviors, and more. Studies also
showed that single gender programs are narrowly more effective than mixed gender programs,
even though the common belief is that mixed gender programs are more effective.
Ideally, prevention programming on college campuses would take this research as a way
to improve moving forwards. This research also highlights how a climate survey can be used as a
valuable tool in reforming programming, both for understanding prevalence and attitudes
towards assault and related behaviors (alcohol consumption, harassment, etc). For further insight,
I would like to see a study that investigates prevention programming for those who are
revictimized, as most data indicated that current programs do not change the prevalence for those
who experience violence again. This research could help an even more vulnerable population by
providing tools to show they matter, and that prevention of revictimization is a priority.
Additionally, I would like to see studies that show how campus climate surveys are used outside
of reporting incidence and prevalence. Programming around changing campus climate around
harassment, power imbalances, and alcohol use may also be effective in preventing sexual
violence.
Works Cited
Anderson, Linda A., and Susan C. Whiston. "Sexual Assault Education Programs: A Meta-
Analytic Examination of Their Effectiveness." Psychology of Women Quarterly 29.4 (2005):
374-88. SAGE Journals. Web. 3 May 2017.
Fisher, Bonnie S., Francis T. Cullen, and Michael G. Turner. Sexual Victimization of College
Women. N.p.: U.S. Department of Justice, 2000. Print.
hans, t. aaron. "Campus Climate Survey Interview." Personal interview. 2 May 2017.
Mapel Bloomberg, Kristin. "Campus Climate Survey Interview." Personal interview. 3 May
2017.
Paul, Lisa A., and Matt J. Gray. "Sexual Assault Programming on College Campuses: Using
Social Psychological Belief and Behavior Change Principles to Improve Outcomes." Trauma,
Violence, & Abuse 12.2 (2011): 99-109. SAGE Journals. Web. 27 Apr. 2017.
Rothman, Emily, and Jay Silverman. "The Effect of a College Sexual Assault Prevention
Program on First-year Students' Victimization Rates." Journal of American College Health 55.5
(2007): 283-90. SAGE Journals. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
"Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force." Hamline University. Hamline University, n.d. Web. 04
May 2017.