2016 sexual assault climate survey results online

Results of a sexual assault climate survey administered last April indicate Miami University students are more aware of sexual assault prevention than the average college student in Ohio but are not immune to sexual assault or interpersonal violence.

Results from the survey, parts of which mirrored questions asked across Ohio but with other questions unique to Miami, are summarized in a report available on Miami’s sexual assault and interpersonal violence website.

In April 2016, Miami administered its second sexual assault climate survey. The 2016 survey was designed in part to complement and enhance the information gathered in spring 2015.

In 2015, the response rate was about 15 percent. In 2016, 2,794 students responded, for a 13 percent response rate. While results importantly represent the perceptions and experiences of respondents, it is not necessarily accurate to extrapolate findings to the broader campus community.

Since constructing the initial 2015 survey, the national spotlight focused more sharply on this issue, and campus Title IX responsibilities became better understood and executed. Two alternative national surveys related to campus sexual and interpersonal violence have attracted attention: the Administrator-Researcher Campus Climate Collaborative (ARC3) survey and the Association of American Universities (AAU) survey.

Miami’s spring 2016 survey adopted segments of the ARC3 survey and the Ohio Department of Higher Education benchmark questions. The 2016 survey differed from the 2015 survey in several ways. Among them:

1) The time frame for the ARC3 sexual assault incidence questions is “Since coming to this institution…” which provides a broader perspective and thus complements the “In the last twelve months…” time frame used in Miami’s 2015 survey.

2) The ARC3 survey includes questions about harassment, stalking and dating/domestic violence that were not present in the 2015 survey.

3) The ARC3 survey more deeply examines perpetrator behavior, and – unlike the 2015 survey – specifically asks respondents about their own perpetration behaviors.

4) Both the CCC and ARC3 questions provide the opportunity for more benchmarking outside of Miami.

Additional information on Miami’s education, prevention and response to sexual and interpersonal violence is found online.