A Descriptive Analysis of College Students’ Experiences of Female-Perpetrated Sexual Assault

• Date: 01 November 2020
• Author: Gianna Gambardella,Kathleen M. Palm Reed,Denise A. Hines,Madeline Benz
• DOI: 10.1177/1043986220936077
• Published date: 01 November 2020
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1043986220936077

Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice

2020, Vol. 36(4) 520 –538

© The Author(s) 2020

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DOI: 10.1177/1043986220936077

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Article

A Descriptive Analysis

of College Students’

Experiences of Female-

Perpetrated Sexual Assault

Gianna Gambardella1, Madeline Benz1,

Denise A. Hines2, and Kathleen M. Palm Reed1

Abstract

The current study sought to explore the experiences of college students who have

experienced female-perpetrated sexual assault, and to compare their experiences to

those of students assaulted by male perpetrators. A total of 11,165 college students

across 11 years completed an online, anonymous survey measuring self-reports of

sexual violence, context surrounding their victimization, help-seeking, and well-

being. Of the students surveyed, 531 students reported experiencing sexual assault

and identified both their own gender and the gender of their perpetrator, and 14%

reported having experienced female-perpetrated sexual assault. Victims of female

perpetrators were more likely to report their perpetrator being an (ex)intimate

partner and less likely to be a stranger. Victims of female perpetrators were also

more likely to report that their victimization involved their own drug use. Overall,

victims of female-perpetrated sexual assault were less likely to tell anyone about

their victimization, or to report to on- or off-campus resources. Finally, our findings

suggest that victims of female perpetrators have comparable well-being to victims of

male perpetrators. These finding contribute to the overall understanding of female-

perpetrated sexual assault.

Keywords

sexual assault, female perpetrators, college campuses, interpersonal violence, rape

1Clark University, Worcester, MA, USA

2George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

Corresponding Author:

Gianna Gambardella, Department of Psychology, Clark University, 950 Main St., Worcester, MA 01610,

USA.

Email: ggambardella@clarku.edu

936077CCJXXX10.1177/1043986220936077Journal of Contemporary Criminal JusticeGambardella et al.

research-article2020

Gambardella et al. 521

Introduction

The phenomenon of female-perpetrated sexual assault in college environments has

generally been understudied and underrepresented in the literature on sexual violence.

Despite recent increased interest in the topic, there is a limited understanding about

who is victimized by female perpetrators and in what context they experience

victimization.

Research on sexual assault has traditionally focused on the experiences of women

as victims and men as perpetrators (e.g., Greathouse et al., 2015; Ullman, 2010). As

such, less is known about the experiences of victims who are assaulted by women, and

much of the research that does exist suggests low frequencies of female-perpetrated

sexual assault against adults (N. L. Fisher & Pina, 2013; Groth & Birnbaum, 2013).

For example, The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence survey reported that

both women and men were infrequently sexually assaulted by women, although these

rates were slightly higher for men (Smith et al., 2017). In fact, while studies on domes-

tic violence have explored victimization and perpetration by women (Orcutt et al.,

2005), most studies on sexual assault exclusively inquire about women’s experiences

of victimization, neglecting any assessment of perpetration (Anderson & Struckman-

Johnson, 1998). In addition, much of the research on sexual assault on college cam-

puses has focused on examining men’s perpetration (Berkowitz, 1992; B. S. Fisher

et al., 2000; Krebs et al., 2007).

Despite the historical trend of only studying male-perpetrated sexual assaults

against women, accumulating research suggests that women can also be perpetrators

of sexual assault. In a general population sample, women committed 28% of sexual

assaults on men and 4% of assaults on women (Stemple et al., 2017). Thus, the public

health significance of sexual violence has only been partially understood. Further

research is essential to understand the rates of perpetration by women, the nature of the

relationships between victims and female perpetrators, and the conditions in which

these assaults are occurring.

Characteristics of Victims

In addition to highlighting the existence of female-perpetrated sexual assaults, it is

also important to consider who is affected by female perpetrators. Research on women

who perpetrate sexual assault has found patterns regarding the perpetrator’s relation-

ship to their victim. One study found that over half of female-perpetrated sexual

assaults against male victims occurred between friends and acquaintances, one third

involved a girlfriend or fiancé, and less than 10% involved strangers (Struckman-

Johnson & Struckman-Johnson, 1998). Other studies suggest that women perpetrate

sexual assault against men within long-term intimate relationships (Hines & Douglas,

2016). More research is needed to explore the trends in the relationship between per-

petrator and victim, particularly among college-age students due to their increased risk

of sexual violence (Mellins et al., 2017).

Much of the limited research on female-perpetrated sexual violence has focused on

women who perpetrate against men (Anderson & Struckman-Johnson, 1998), but even