Feminist Research with Student Activists: Enhancing Campus Sexual Assault Research

Abstract

Addressing sexual assault on university and college campuses in the United States is a national priority. To date, research on campus sexual assault overwhelmingly focuses on students as objects of study: as survivors, perpetrators, and bystanders of sexual assault. This focus has largely overlooked students who act as agents of change, mobilizing to alter campus norms around consent, prevention, survivor support, and institutional response. In this article, we encourage feminist scholars to incorporate students as advocates against sexual assault and to invite students to be collaborators in research. We discuss a student‐led organization and our ongoing collaborative study with the organization to illustrate how feminist researchers can feature student engagement with campus sexual assault at the grass roots. We conclude with recommendations to expand the national research agenda on campus sexual assault.