Sexual Violence Prevalence (SVP) Campus Climate Survey
Background
In Spring 2023, SUNY Oswego students and employees participated in the SUNY System’s bi-annual Sexual Violence Prevalence Survey (SVP) Survey. The goal of this online survey is to gather information about the rate of incidents of sexual violence and about the knowledge of policies and resources among students and employees.
Instrument & Implementation: Online survey developed by SUNY and administered to all SUNY students, faculty, and staff.
Survey takeaways:
- Response rates and question completion rates were lower than previous surveys.
- Student demographics are shifting – fewer students are identifying as heterosexual, and more are identifying as bisexual (trend from 2019 to 2021 to 2023 SVP surveys). About 1 in 4 students reported having a disability or chronic health condition.
- Students are generally aware of the role of the Title IX Coordinator and how to contact them. They are less aware of other relevant campus resources and support services available to them.
- Employees are generally aware of the policies, laws, and available resources for incidents of sexual assault.
Student Survey Results: Spring 2023
Response Rate and Demographics
Email invitations to 6,463 students resulted in 428 completed surveys, for a 7% response rate and a 95% confidence interval of ±5%. This response rate is slightly above the overall 6% response rate for SUNY, but much lower than the 19% response rate of the 2021 survey for SUNY Oswego students.
68% of respondents identified as female, despite comprising 53% of the surveyed student body. 57% of students identified as heterosexual (-14% from 2021), and 20% identified as bisexual (+6%).
25% of respondents reported a disability/chronic health condition, an increase from 2021 (+8%). 69% lived in on-campus housing (+13% from 2021, during the pandemic). Zero students reported living in an outdoor location, indoor location not meant for habitation, or shelter/emergency housing.
Results
SUNY Oswego saw improvements in student awareness of sexual violence and resources, as compared to the SUNY Oswego 2021 SVP survey. There were some regressions, particularly around student knowledge and trust of campus procedures and policies around sexual assault.
Knowledge of Campus Policies and Resources
- 79% of respondents agreed that their campus has policies and procedures specifically addressing sexual assault (roughly unchanged from 2021, -4%).
- 67% of respondents reported that they know how to contact the Title IX Coordinator (+8%).
- 75% of respondents know that they can file a formal complaint about sexual assault on campus with the Title IX Coordinator, unchanged from 2021. Knowledge of who a formal complaint about sexual assault on campus can be filed with has decreased across all other categories, particularly for the Counseling Center (55%, -12%).
- General awareness of campus and community resources decreased, particularly awareness of University Police or Public Safety and Human Resources (-10%).
- 30% of respondents did not know how to report any type of sexual harassment/assault (unchanged from 2021)
- There was an overall decrease in awareness of written and/or verbal information, the largest decrease on policies prohibiting sexual assault (-11%). This continues the downward trend from 2019 to 2021.
Experiences
- For students who reported having experienced an incident of sexual harassment or assault, 37% said they filed a formal complaint with the college, compared to 16% in 2021.
- There was an overall decrease in trust in the college response to a formal complaint of sexual violence. For students who responded to the question:
- 63% strongly agree/agree that the college will take the report seriously (-16%)
- 51% strongly agree/agree that the college will conduct a fair investigation (-16%)
- 60% strongly agree/agree that the college will provide the student with support (-13%)
- 63% strongly agree/agree that the college will take the report seriously (-16%)
Employee Survey Results: Spring 2023
Response Rate
Email invitations to 1,177 faculty and staff resulted in 319 completed surveys (137 faculty, 181 staff/administrators, 1 unknown), for a 27% response rate and a 95% confidence interval of ±5%.
In contrast with the student demographics, 79% self-identified as heterosexual and 3% as bisexual (57% of students identified as heterosexual, 20% as bisexual).
Knowledge of Campus Policies
Generally, SUNY Oswego employees report greater knowledge of campus policies around sexual violence, compared to the overall SUNY average. Faculty and staff generally had similar knowledge of campus policies.
- 96% of respondents know that SUNY Oswego has “policies and procedures specifically addressing sexual assault.”
- 90% of respondents know how to contact the Title IX Coordinator (+9% from 2021).
- Between 80% to 90% of employees report receiving information about topics specifically related to sexual assault, similar to 2021 rates.
- The survey indicates that women are generally more aware of campus policies and resources compared to men. For example, of the respondents who answered the question and identified their gender identity, 91% of women know the definition of affirmative consent, compared to 86% of men.
- Employees are more likely to know how to report sexual assault (91%), harassment (92%), and domestic/dating violence (89%) than stalking (83%). There was improvement across the board from 2021 (average +5%). For example, knowledge of reporting domestic/dating violence increased 7% from 2021.
- 59% know about SUNY’s alcohol and drug amnesty policy (+5% from 2021)
Experiences
- 13% of employees indicated having had a student disclose unwanted sexual experiences within the past year (+2% from 2021).
- 21% of respondents who learned of a student’s unwanted sexual experiences did not officially report the incident. This matches the rate from 2021.
- 5% of employees reported that during the last year they experienced unwanted sexual comments, sexual slurs, or demeaning jokes, which is up slightly from 2021 (3%). All of these experiences were initiated by another member of the campus community (faculty or staff) and occurred in the campus setting. All of the respondents were women.
- Zero respondents said they had received unwanted sexually suggestive digital communications (3% in 2021).
http://system.suny.edu/sexual-violence-prevention-workgroup/policies/campus-climate/ - The next Climate Survey will be administered in the Spring Semester of 2025. More information about the Survey is available at https://www.suny.edu/climatesurvey. Contact Title IX Coordinator, [email protected] for more information.