Students' Perceptions of Their University's Organizational Response to Sexual Assault and Violence

University campuses have instituted education programs about intimate partner violence and enforce student conduct rules through their student judicial systems. However, students and administrators expressed different opinions about the effectiveness of these efforts. Administrators believe the sanctions commonly issued in the college judicial system hold students accountable, but victims and advocates say the punishment rarely fits the crime (Lombardi, 2010). This presentation describes college men and women's perceptions of the organizational culture's response to reporting sexual assault and violence. An exploratory design to examine the health behaviors related to sexual assault in a sample of college students was used. The sample was gathered from three different colleges/universities (n=1980). Human subjects' approval on all three campuses was obtained. Data was collected via e-mail and by paper and pencil survey methods. SPSS 19 was used to analyze the data. Although all of the campuses offered educational programs on dating violence and sexual assault, only a minority of students attended the educational programming. Most of the students believed that the university campus and its administrators were tolerant of sexual assault on campus. There was a gender difference, in which more women than men students felt that the university was tolerant of sexual assault behaviors. These findings suggest that universities must make dating violence and sexual assault educational programs mandatory in order to get a majority of its students to attend such classes. In addition, campus administration must work with students to create a climate where sexual assault is not tolerated.