Campus Climate and the Sexual Assault Victimization of LGBQ College Students

Abstract

Sexual minority college students are disproportionately impacted by sexual assault in college, however, there is a paucity of research exploring the role of the college environment in victimization. This study explores the relationship of campus climate with sexual assault victimization for these students. This sample included 1,110 current college students in the United States who identified as a sexual minority. Logistic regression results indicated that the more observations of harassment and discrimination of sexual minority students by participants, the more likely they were to experience sexual assault victimization in college. Also, the more out a participant was on campus, and the stronger sense of belonging they had to their college, the less likely they were to experience sexual assault victimization. Sexual assault prevention efforts on college campuses would benefit from programming and policies that support belonging and address discrimination and harassment.

Keywords: LGBQ college students; Sexual assault; campus climate; minority stress; protective factors; risk factors.