A SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF SEXUAL ASSAULTS ON A COLLEGE CAMPUS: A CASE STUDY OF PENN STATE UNIVERSITY FROM 2014 TO 2017
Open Access
- Author:
- Kaufman, Sonia Batshera
- Area of Honors:
- Women's Studies
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Lorraine Dowler, Thesis Supervisor
Dr. Jennifer Ann Wagner-Lawlor, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Spatial Analysis
GIS
Women's Studies
Gendered Violence
Campus Sexual Assault - Abstract:
- Nationally, 55% of sexual assaults occur at or near a victim's home. Yet, the narrative developed by Penn State's Sexual Assault Task Force emphasizes safety measures (such as avoiding rides and walks with strangers) as a main prevention strategy. The recommendations of the Task Force are sound, yet the strategies laid out only go partway in preventing assaults on campus and in protecting vulnerable students. It is a complex issue that requires a multi-layered approach, one that emphasizes both awareness and pro-active prevention. This research attempts to provide another layer of understanding in our attempt to combat sexual violence. Although there have been a number of academic reports that focus on university policies with regard to sexual assault, this issue has not been analyzed through a spatial lens in the last decade. Studying campus sexual assaults through a geographic perspective is a neglected area of research that could improve university policy and community understanding. Since February of 2014, sixty nine "Timely Warning" notifications have been sent out to Penn State students and university employees regarding incidents of sexual assaults on campus. This research utilized these police records and Campus Climate Surveys from February 2014 to February 2017 to map frequency and temporal analyses of sexual assault occurrences on the Penn State University campus. By extracting location data from 45 of the incidents, a heat map of locations was created. It was found that the majority of the sexual assaults took place in on-campus dormitories. The remaining 25 reported assaults did not have location data, and therefore could only be used for a separate temporal analysis. Penn State is not representative of all universities, but the trends observed there could hypothetically be applied to other large research universities as well. It is imperative that the rhetoric and focus of Penn State's sexual assault education is changed in order to reflect reality. Currently, Penn State is not providing their students with enough location data, and is therefore failing to advise students properly about protecting themselves. As the research that follows shows, place is an important data point that should be incorporated into the university’s strategy to combat sexual assault. If this problem is addressed at one university, it can potentially serve as a model for other college campuses across the U.S.