Measuring and reporting campus sexual assault: Privilege and exclusion in what we know and what we do

As awareness of and national attention to campus sexual assault in the U.S. has grown, efforts to study and respond to the problem have increased. While these efforts are to be applauded, they have yet to fully challenge or correct the privileged and exclusive perspectives and assumptions regarding student experiences of campus sexual assault. Specifically, the experiences of white, heterosexual, cisgender, middle‐class, and American citizens who are students at primarily elite, traditional colleges and universities are taken as the norm, while experiences of students of color, LGBTQ students, and international students are neglected. Here we examine two primary sources of information regarding campus sexual assault: large‐scale self‐report surveys and individual reporting to authorities. We first review the content of select large‐scale surveys used to gather and measure self‐reported data from students on the scope, prevalence, and character of campus sexual assault, and identify areas of omission and neglect regarding marginalized students. We then review literature on barriers to reporting to authorities specific to these groups that further exclude them from our understanding of the problem. We end with recommendations for improved efforts to study and respond to campus sexual assault that are more inclusive and comprehensive.