The IU Bloomington Community Attitudes and Experiences with Sexual Assault survey aims to gain information about the prevalence of sexual assault and student views on the University’s efforts to respond to and prevent sexual violence on campus.
All undergraduate and graduate students ages 18 or older are invited to take the survey before Dec. 2, and survey findings will be released this spring, according to the University.
The survey is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the IU Student Welfare Initiative and the IU Women’s Philanthropy Council, and it is being carried out and analyzed by the Dean of Students Office and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction. A third-party assessment and data management firm called Campus Labs will be administering the survey, said Mark Land, IU spokesperson said.
Leslie Fasone, assistant dean of students for women’s and gender affairs , played a leading role in the coordination of the survey. She said she hopes the survey results will serve as a guide for how IU can improve its prevention and response efforts.
“I’m hopeful that the survey will provide us with a big-picture perspective,” Fasone said. “I also think the survey can serve as a baseline, this measure we can build off of.”
Completing the survey will take about 15 to 20 minutes, according to the University, and those who complete the survey will be entered into a drawing to win one of 400 $50 Amazon gift cards.
The survey begins by asking questions about whether or not students feel safe and comfortable on campus, and if IU is doing enough to ensure student safety.
Students will answer questions about their past involvement in bystander intervention training and their awareness of campus resources and support for victims of sexual assault.
The survey also asks students if they think there is anything they can do about the issue of sexual assault on campus, and whether or not they would feel confident intervening in a situation involving a sexual ?assault.
It provides participants with a list of phrases and asks them to select which phrases they believe indicate a lack of consent.
They must also rate to what degree they agree with statements such as, “The more alcohol a person has consumed, the less able he/she is to consent to sexual activity” or “When a person is drinking alcohol, he or she is implying interest in engaging in sexual activity.”
Although the survey is completely anonymous, students are asked to provide information about their year in school, ethnic background, sexual orientation, relationship status and involvement in student organizations.
Fasone said that by gathering information about differences between domestic and international students, greek and non-greek students, and undergraduate and graduate students, the University can understand how to focus its prevention efforts.
“We know there are certain groups that are at higher risks,” Fasone said. “That’s going to tell us, ‘OK, this group needs this type of education.’”
The survey incentives, creation and final report will cost the University about $20,000 to $30,000 and is funded through the Office of the Provost and the Women’s Philanthropy Council, Land said.
The team has been working on the survey for more than a year, Land said. Planning efforts began before the Department of Education announced its Office of Civil Rights investigation into the University’s compliance with Title IX sexual harassment and sexual violence policies. Since March, IU has been providing the Office of Civil Rights with documents and information about its sexual assault reporting procedures and prevention efforts.
Since then, IU has launched its Student Welfare Initiative to boost sexual assault prevention and response efforts. Last week, the University was also awarded a one-year, $165,000 Indiana Department of Health grant to expand its efforts.
“This is a fact-finding mission,” Land said about the survey. “It’s not about us being able to say things are great on campus.”
Land said he realizes that many students taking the survey will have personal experiences related to sexual assault, and that there will also likely be some negative responses.
“We’d like to think we’re doing a lot already, but no one is under the illusion that there isn’t a lot more work to be done,” ?Land said.
