Despite recommendations from major medical organizations, only about a third of college health centers screen for domestic violence. Questions about sexual consent and sexual violence don’t show up on many routine intake forms – and fewer than half of college health centers ask about these problems during routine gynecology visits.
Associate Professor of Nursing Melissa Sutherland aims to transform this chasm of care into an opportunity to improve women’s health on campuses throughout the country.
A former family nurse practitioner for the New York State public health department, Sutherland asks questions central to cultivating a culture that reduces nonconsensual sex: How can we prevent intimate partner and interpersonal violence? How do we create an environment that supports victims in coming forward? What can colleges do to make campuses safer?
Sutherland believes change can start at the level of the campus health center, so she launched a pilot study in which she interviewed 615 women seniors at two northeast U.S. universities. She found that 36 percent reported intimate partner or sexual violence. Yet the majority also reported that no one at their campus health center had asked about sexual violence.
With funding from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Sutherland is expanding her study to include five colleges and 1,000 women. She’ll be investigating not only screening practices, but health care providers’ beliefs and attitudes about screening for sexual violence. Her findings could help guide future practice in campus health centers—and lead to a safer environment for all.