Urban Commuter Campus Students’ Perspectives on Sexual Violence: Implications for Response and Prevention

Abstract

Sexual violence victimization is unacceptably common in the US, with nearly half of women and one in five men reporting lifetime sexual coercion and/or unwanted sexual contact; much violence occurs in campus settings. The majority of sexual violence prevention programs designed to date were not developed around the needs of urban commuter campus students. The present study explored qualitatively how these students conceptualize sexual violence and prevention. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with students on how they recognized sexual violence and understood prevention. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed. Commuter students used “gut feelings” to identify sexual violence, reporting minimal direct consent communication. Intersecting social identities and multiple, concurrent roles limit the potential impact of existing prevention programs. Further research to design and evaluate tailored sexual violence prevention programming for urban commuter campus students is needed.