Advocates and activists on college campuses have been working for over 40 years to prevent and respond to all forms of sexual violence. Feminist movements have created resources for survivors and advocated for stronger laws against sexual violence. Despite this ground-breaking work, the rate of sexual violence in postsecondary institutions has remained essentially the same, with 20-25% of college women experiencing rape or attempted rape (Anderson & Clement, 2015; Black et al., 2011; Fischer, Cullen, & Turner, 2000; Koss, Gidycz, & Wisniewski, 1987). Sexual violence on college campuses persists across all racial and ethnic groups, sexual orientations, and gender identities (Black et al., 2011), with historically marginalized and underrepresented groups seeing even greater rates of sexual violence. One in eight lesbians and nearly half of bisexual women experienced rape. Four in ten gay men and nearly half of bisexual men experienced some form of sexual violence. Transgender and gender non-conforming people are at even greater risk for sexual violence (Grant et al., 2011). Native and indigenous students, international students, and undocumented students are all underrepresented in the research on prevalence of sexual violence in higher education. Regardless of the gender identity or sexual orientation of the victim or survivor, men are most often the perpetrators of sexual violations (Black et al., 2011). Sexual violence affects the entire higher education community, including students, faculty, staff, and administrators, directly or indirectly.
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