Sexual Violence at Christian and Secular Universities: Does Institutional Type Matter?

Abstract

Sexual violence is a persistent problem on the college campus. One method of addressing sexual violence is to endorse bystander intervention, whereby students are encouraged to interrupt potential sexual assault situations. Although initial research indicates that the Christian college campus provides a cultural context where fewer acts of sexual violence are committed, nothing is known about whether students on such campuses are more or less likely to intervene as a bystander. Five research questions were addressed in this study, which involved asking 851 students who attended three Christian institutions and one secular university to complete self-report surveys about their sexual assault and bystander intervention experiences. The responses indicated that violence was less common at the Christian colleges than at the secular institution. We also found that both men and women are more willing to intervene to prevent sexual violence at Christian campuses than on the secular campus. Implications of these and other results are discussed.