Campus Sexual Assault Climate: Toward an Expanded Definition and Improved Assessment

Objective: Campus climate surveys related to sexual violence have become commonplace on college campuses. Despite what their name implies, these surveys have lacked both a clear definition of climate and conceptualization of how climate shapes sexual violence. Moreover, these surveys have largely focused on individual attitudes and behaviors, paying limited attention to campus-level factors that could be targeted to strengthen campus response and prevention efforts. Methods: Drawing on research related to sexual violence and climate assessment in other fields, we propose a comprehensive definition of climate comprising five dimensions-behavioral, perceived, felt, structural, and historical climate. Using this multidimensional framework, we identify aspects not currently assessed by existing climate assessments that have the potential to inform a more comprehensive assessment of climate as it relates to sexual violence. Results: Current climate assessments focus mostly on behavioral climate and perceived climate, with less attention to felt, structural, and historical climate. Addressing these additional climate dimensions would allow institutions to identify and track factors that result in disproportionate burden of sexual violence among students with marginalized identities and help identify prevention targets at the outer levels of the social ecology. Conclusion: A more comprehensive climate assessment may empower institutions to enact programs or policies, foster community norms, grapple with complicated histories, and otherwise endeavor to change their climate to one that effectively prevents and responds to sexual violence.