Effective Sexual Assault Prevention on College Campuses in Ohio and Kentucky: A Policy Analysis and Recommendations for Best Practices

Sexual assault is a significant problem on university campuses across the country. Estimates of sexual predation on college campuses range from 20-25% of women experiencing an attempted or completed assault. That equates to 1 in 4 female college students being sexually assaulted during their educational career. Due to these alarming statistics a review was undertaken of campus sexual assault policies and procedures at public four-year institutions in the states of Ohio and Kentucky. Primary data collection occurred using the internet and telephone contact with universities that did not have readily available information. Through this our research team created categories of various policies. These policies were then compared to best practices for campus sexual assault policies as identified by ACHA. The presentation will highlight the variations in sexual assault policy by university and will discuss the importance of modifying existing sexual assault policies to better prevent sexual assault and to better provide follow-up services to survivors.