Institutional Betrayal: A Mixed Methods Study of College Women's Experiences With On-Campus Help-Seeking Following Rape

In a given year, between 3 and 10% of women attending college will experience a completed rape. Unfortunately, when college survivors seek help following rape, representatives from their university may respond inadequately or harmfully, such as by blaming them, failing to provide adequate support and accommodations, or by minimizing the assault. The failures of an institution to protect its members from harm has been termed institutional betrayal (IB). The present study sought to examine college women rape survivors' (n = 28) experiences with disclosing to three types of campus resources: confidential sources (e.g., counselor), mandated reporters (e.g., faculty member), and Title IX and/or police via examination of their quantitative ratings of IB and institutional support, as well as via thematic analysis of their written help seeking narratives (n = 19). Results support that those who disclosed to Title IX and/or police reported the greatest amount of IB, and there was a trend for those who disclosed to a confidential source to report more support. Thematic analysis revealed four IB themes and two institutional support themes. Implications of findings for university sexual assault prevention and response efforts are discussed.