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This paper uses data from the American Voices Project, an interview study based on a random population sample, to explore the relationship between assault experiences and how people narrate their lives. Using quantitative sentiment analysis, we find that survivors of assault express significantly greater negative sentiment when asked to tell their life stories. These negative sentiments are observable throughout the entire interview, including before questions of assault are asked. Survivors of assault narrate their experiences with more anger, disgust, fear, and sadness, and less anticipation, joy, and trust than those who do not report assault experiences. We provide evidence that the negative sentiment associated with sexual violence is greater than having lost a parent and less than having experienced a significant financial hardship within the last month. We contextualize these findings with a qualitative evaluation of the interview transcripts, further substantiating our finding. Overall, this paper suggests that sexual violence is part of what we have called, drawing inspiration from the work of Beth Richie, a "matrix of harm" that structures people's lives. While our finding is consistent with what we might expect given the negative life experiences and sequalae associated with sexual assault, it has important implications. Sentimental differences in narrating life experience are an important yet relatively understudied phenomenon, and experiences of assault are rarely asked about yet may be consequential to both quantitative and qualitative accounts of social processes., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Caputo et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

This paper reflects upon calls for "open data" in ethnography, drawing on our experiences doing research on sexual violence. The core claim of this paper is not that open data is undesirable; it is that there is a lot we must know before we presume its benefits apply to ethnographic research. The epistemic and ontological foundation of open data is grounded in a logic that is not always consistent with that of ethnographic practice. We begin by identifying three logics of open data-epistemic, political-economic, and regulatory-which each address a perceived problem with knowledge production and point to open science as the solution. We then evaluate these logics in the context of the practice of ethnographic research. Claims that open data would improve data quality are, in our assessment, potentially reversed: in our own ethnographic work, open data practices would likely have compromised our data quality. And protecting subject identities would have meant creating accessible data that would not allow for replication. For ethnographic work, open data would be like having the data set without the codebook. Before we adopt open data to improve the quality of science, we need to answer a series of questions about what open data does to data quality. Rather than blindly make a normative commitment to a principle, we need empirical work on the impact of such practices - work which must be done with respect to the different epistemic cultures' modes of inquiry. Ethnographers, as well as the institutions that fund and regulate ethnographic research, should only embrace open data after the subject has been researched and evaluated within our own epistemic community., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Khan, Hirsch and Zeltzer-Zubida.)

This response to Campbell et al. makes three points. First, the commitment to "know more" must examine the full ecology of relationship violence and sexual misconduct (RVSM); that knowledge is essential for creating multilevel prevention strategies. Second, a full realization of an intersectional perspective requires attention to a broader range of power-based harms, forging institutional links between RVSM prevention and work on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Third, while support for survivors is certainly vital, most people who experience harm do not report it, and so an ambitious approach to prevention is vital to building communities in which everyone can thrive.

The primary aim of the current study was to examine the prevalence and correlates of self-reported sexual assault (SA) perpetration, defined as nonconsensual sexualized touching or attempted or completed oral, vaginal, or anal penetration since starting college among men, women, and gender nonconforming (GNC) students. A secondary aim was to examine the prevalence and correlates of self-reported sexual encounters when the respondent was unsure that their partner consented (ambiguous consent). In spring 2016, 1,671 randomly sampled students (67% response rate) at two interconnected urban undergraduate institutions participated in an online survey about sexual experiences and personal and social contextual correlates. Prevalence estimates for SA perpetration and ambiguous consent were estimated and logistic regression was used to test bivariate associations between these two outcomes and a range of potential correlates. Approximately 2% of students self-reported any SA perpetration and 9% reported any ambiguous consent experiences since starting college. Pre-college SA perpetration, past-year SA victimization, belief in and use of nonverbal consent strategies, binge drinking, and depression symptoms were associated with higher odds of both SA perpetration and ambiguous consent while at college. Hookups were associated with higher odds of ambiguous consent; family social support was associated with lower odds of ambiguous consent. Findings of similar correlates for SA perpetration and ambiguous consent point to prevention programming focused on verbal consent strategies, alcohol harm reduction approaches, and pre-college interventions.

Sex on college campuses has fascinated scholars, reporters, and the public since the advent of coeducational higher education in the middle of the nineteenth century. But the emergence of rape on campus as a public problem is relatively recent. This article reveals the changing social constructions of campus rape as a public problem through a detailed examination of newspaper reporting on this issue as it unfolded at Columbia University and Barnard College between 1955 and 1990. Adapting Joseph R. Gusfield's classic formulation of public problem construction, we show the ways police and other judicial and law enforcement authorities, feminists, university faculty, student groups, university administrators, and health professionals and institutions have struggled over ownership of how the problem should be defined and described, attribution of responsibility for addressing the problem, and prescriptions for what is to be done. Our findings show how beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the simultaneous swelling of the women's liberation movement and the exponential integration of women into previously male-dominated institutions of higher education and medicine catalyzed the creation of new kinds of knowledge, institutions, and expertise to address rape and sexual violence more broadly on college campuses. New actors-feminists and health professionals-layered frames of gender and health over those of crime and punishment to fundamentally transform how we understand rape on campus, and beyond.

Undergraduate binge drinking, a well-documented problem at US institutions of higher education, has been associated with a host of negative behavioral health outcomes such as sexual assault, poor academic functioning, and mental health problems. Scholars have extensively examined individual-and institutional-level risk factors for binge drinking on campuses. However, these data have not been effectively translated into interventions to reduce rates of binge drinking. To inform the development of additional evidence-based binge-drinking prevention programs for college campuses, this paper documents the varied goals and social contexts that constitute 'binge drinking', drawing on primarily ethnographic data. By disaggregating what survey research has largely examined as a unified outcome, we offer a descriptive account of the different reasons for and contexts in which students consume alcohol in amounts that constitute binge drinking: to meet new people at parties, to socialize with close friends, when hoping to find a sexual partner, when anticipating moving to a space where alcohol is more difficult to procure, to provide a way to move between affectively different situations, to cope with stress or anxiety, and to fit in. Our discussion links these motivations to factors beyond the individual and institutional levels, and points to modifiable social factors in university life as strategy for prevention. The implication of our argument is that acknowledging and responding to the varied motivations underlying students' alcohol use is one strategy to enhance campus binge-drinking prevention.

Background: Research has documented multilevel risk factors associated with experiencing incapacitated sexual assault among undergraduate women. Less is known about multilevel risk factors associated with nonincapacitated sexual assault. This study examines and compares the different settings, coercion methods, and relationships in which incapacitated and nonincapacitated sexual assaults occur among undergraduate women., Materials and Methods: Our sample included 253 undergraduate women who reported experiencing sexual assault during college on a population-based survey of randomly selected students at two colleges in New York City in 2016 (N = 1671, response rate = 67%). We examined event-level data on their most significant sexual assault incident since entering college. Using multivariable statistical analysis, we identified situational contexts associated with incapacitated and nonincapacitated assault incidents adjusting for binge drinking, illicit drug use, and other confounding sociodemographic and psychosocial variables., Results: Almost half (47%) of women who experienced sexual assault reported being incapacitated due to alcohol or drugs during the most significant incident. Being at a party before the event and "acquaintance" perpetrators were associated with incapacitated sexual assault after adjusting for binge drinking and other confounders. Meeting a perpetrator through an Internet dating app or indicating the perpetrator was an intimate partner were each associated with nonincapacitated assault incidents. Perpetrator use of physical force and verbal coercion were also associated with nonincapacitated assault incident., Conclusions: The different situational contexts associated with incapacitated and nonincapacitated sexual assaults have important implications for the design of prevention strategies that will effectively target the diverse risk environments in which campus sexual assault occurs.

Purpose: Nonconsensual sexual experiences on college campuses represent a serious public health problem. The preponderance of existing research on students' actual consent practices is quantitative, lab based, or focused on how single dimensions of social context shape consent practices. Filling those gaps and illustrating ethnography's potential to lay the groundwork for innovative prevention, this paper draws on research conducted with undergraduates on two interconnected campuses to examine multiple social dimensions of sexual consent practices., Methods: Data include in-depth interviews with over 150 students, 16 months of participant observation, 17 focus groups, and key informant interviews. Research conducted for this study took place between September 2015 and January 2017 at Columbia University and Barnard College., Results: Although sexual consent is often approached as an individual or interpersonal practice, this research highlights potentially modifiable social dimensions of consent. These seven dimensions of sexual consent practices are as follows: (1) gendered heterosexual scripts; (2) sexual citizenship; (3) intersectionality; (4) men's fear of "doing" consent wrong; (5) "drunk sex"; (6) peer groups; and (7) spatial/temporal factors shaping when consent is assumed., Conclusions: Effective promotion of consensual sex, as a strategy to prevent assault, will likely require understanding and modifying the social structures that shape consent practices, rather than just legislation that mandates the promotion of affirmative consent. We describe seven potential modifiable social contextual dimensions of consent practices, along with related strategies to promote consensual sex and prevent sexual assault., (Copyright © 2018 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Sexual assault is a part of many students' experiences in higher education. In U.S. universities, one in four women and one in ten men report being sexually assaulted before graduation. Bystander training programmes have been shown to modestly reduce campus sexual assault. Like all public health interventions, however, they have unintended social consequences; this research examines how undergraduate men on one campus understand bystander interventions and how those understandings shape their actual practices. We draw on ethnographic data collected between August 2015 and January 2017 at Columbia University and Barnard College. Our findings show that university training and an earnest desire to be responsible lead many men to intervene in possible sexual assaults. However, students' gendered methods target more socially vulnerable and socially distant men while protecting popular men and those to whom they are socially connected. Students' actual bystander practices thus reproduce social hierarchies in which low prestige may or may not be connected to actual risks of sexual assault. These results suggest that understanding intragroup dynamics and social hierarchies is essential to assault prevention in universities and that students' actions as bystanders may be effective at preventing assaults in some circumstances but may lead to new risks of sexual assault.

Background: This article presents the experience of one community-based participatory research (CBPR) board and moves board feedback beyond its dialogue with affiliated researchers, expanding the conversations to the broad research community., Methods: The board member authors of this article were part of the Sexual Health Initiative to Foster Transformation (SHIFT), which had some of the highest subject participation rates within the literature on college sexual assault-84% in a daily diary study (N = 427) and 67% in a survey of 2,500 randomly selected students-and enjoyed an overall positive sentiment., Results and Conclusions: Based on the experience of board members this article outlines four recommendations for the construction of CBPR studies: meeting frequently, co-education of board members and researchers, addressing power and privilege, and prioritizing highly valued participation, with mutual respect for and recognition of distinct roles and expertise.

Purpose: College-bound young people experience sexual assault, both before and after they enter college. This study examines historical risk factors (experiences and exposures that occurred prior to college) for penetrative sexual assault (PSA) victimization since entering college., Methods: A cross-sectional study, including an online population-based quantitiative survey with undergraduate students was conducted in spring 2016. Bivariate analyses and multivariable regressions examined risk and protective factors associated with ever experiencing PSA since entering college. Concurrently-collected in-depth ethnographic interviews with 151 students were reviewed for information related to factors identified in the survey., Results: In bivariate analyses, multiple historical factors were significantly associated with PSA in college including adverse childhood experiences and having experienced unwanted sexual contact before college (for women) and initiation of alcohol, marijuana, and sexual behaviors before age 18. Significant independent risk factors for college PSA included female gender, experiencing unwanted sexual contact before college, first oral sex before age 18, and "hooking up" (e.g., causual sex or sex outside a committed partnership) in high school. Receipt of school-based sex education promoting refusal skills before age 18 was an independent protective factor; abstinence-only instruction was not. In the ethnographic interviews, students reported variable experiences with sex education before college; many reported it was awkward and poorly delivered., Conclusions: Multiple experiences and exposures prior to college influenced the risk of penetrative sexual assault in college. Pre-college comprehensive sexuality education, including skills-based training in refusing unwanted sex, may be an effective strategy for preventing sexual assault in college. Sexual assault prevention needs to begin earlier; successful prevention before college should complement prevention efforts once students enter college., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Sexual assault on college campuses is a public health issue. However varying research methodologies (e.g., different sexual assault definitions, measures, assessment timeframes) and low response rates hamper efforts to define the scope of the problem. To illuminate the complexity of campus sexual assault, we collected survey data from a large population-based random sample of undergraduate students from Columbia University and Barnard College in New York City, using evidence based methods to maximize response rates and sample representativeness, and behaviorally specific measures of sexual assault to accurately capture victimization rates. This paper focuses on student experiences of different types of sexual assault victimization, as well as sociodemographic, social, and risk environment correlates. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and logistic regression were used to estimate prevalences and test associations. Since college entry, 22% of students reported experiencing at least one incident of sexual assault (defined as sexualized touching, attempted penetration [oral, anal, vaginal, other], or completed penetration). Women and gender nonconforming students reported the highest rates (28% and 38%, respectively), although men also reported sexual assault (12.5%). Across types of assault and gender groups, incapacitation due to alcohol and drug use and/or other factors was the perpetration method reported most frequently (> 50%); physical force (particularly for completed penetration in women) and verbal coercion were also commonly reported. Factors associated with increased risk for sexual assault included non-heterosexual identity, difficulty paying for basic necessities, fraternity/sorority membership, participation in more casual sexual encounters ("hook ups") vs. exclusive/monogamous or no sexual relationships, binge drinking, and experiencing sexual assault before college. High rates of re-victimization during college were reported across gender groups. Our study is consistent with prevalence findings previously reported. Variation in types of assault and methods of perpetration experienced across gender groups highlight the need to develop prevention strategies tailored to specific risk groups.