Abstract
Purpose
We sought to examine relationships between women’s sexual orientations and their sexual
assault experiences before and during university.
Methods
Self-reported responses on a web-based survey of 5,439 female undergraduates who participated
in the Campus Sexual Assault study were analyzed to compare three groups: bisexuals,
lesbians, and heterosexuals. Groups were compared in terms of the prevalence of sexual
assault before and during university, and the extent to which sexual assault before
university predicted sexual assault during university.
Findings
The prevalence of sexual assault before and during university was higher among bisexuals
and lesbians compared with heterosexuals (25.4% of bisexuals, 22.4% of lesbians, and
10.7% of heterosexuals were sexually assaulted before university; 24.0% of bisexuals,
17.9% of lesbians, and 13.3% of heterosexuals were sexually assaulted during university).
Sexual assault before university was highly predictive of sexual assault during university,
especially among non-heterosexuals. Compared with heterosexuals not sexually assaulted
before university (the referent group), previously assaulted non-heterosexuals (bisexuals/lesbians)
had eight times the odds of sexual assault during university (adjusted odds ratio
[AOR] = 8.75), whereas previously assaulted heterosexuals had four times the odds
of sexual assault during university (AOR, 4.40). However, there was no difference
in the odds of sexual assault during university between non-heterosexuals not sexually
assaulted before university and heterosexuals not sexually assaulted before university.
Conclusion
Bisexual and lesbian women are more likely than heterosexual women to be sexually
assaulted before and during university. Sexual assault before university is linked
to sexual assault during university for all women, with this association being especially
pronounced among non-heterosexuals.
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Biography
Sandra L. Martin is an epidemiologist and Professor in the Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Her research, teaching and service activities focus on physical and sexual violence in women's lives.
Biography
Bonnie S. Fisher received her PhD from Northwestern University and is a Professor at the University of Cincinnati. She coauthored Unsafe in the Ivory Tower: The Sexual Victimization of College Women. Her research includes evaluating effectiveness of bystander interventions among college students.
Biography
Tara D. Warner is a doctoral student in Sociology at Bowling Green State University. Her research focuses on how structural and cultural contextual factors impact individuals' behavior, health, and well-being, with a particular focus on adolescence and emerging adulthood.
Biography
Christopher P. Krebs received his PhD in Criminology from Florida State University and is a senior research sociologist at RTI. His research interests include drug epidemiology and treatment, intimate partner violence and sexual violence, criminal justice systems, and program evaluation.
Biography
Christine H. Lindquist received her PhD in Medical Sociology from the University of Alabama, Birmingham and is a senior research sociologist at RTI. Her research interests and areas of expertise include prisoner reentry, families and incarceration, and violence against women.
Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
December 10,
2010
Received in revised form:
December 10,
2010
Received:
May 24,
2010
Footnotes
Financial support for this research was provided by Grant Number 2004-WG-BX-0010, awarded by the National Institute of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
