Abstract
Sexual assault is a significant public health issue that impacts many people, particularly college students. Recent national attention to college campus sexual assault has exposed necessary changes for schools to ensure the safety of students. Colleges and universities nationwide are taking extensive measures to prevent incidents of sexual assault on campus, such as initiating bystander intervention programs, educating students on the meaning of consent, and increasing the presence of campus law enforcement officers. The purpose of this study is to examine rape myth acceptance among male and female criminal justice majors at California State University, Sacramento during the Fall 2019 semester. An online survey was distributed to a sample of 201 (N = 201) students enrolled in required upper division criminal justice courses via e-mail and/or course dashboard by their professors. The online survey utilized the updated Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance (uIRMA) Scale and collected demographic information. Results indicated that male criminal justice majors had a significantly higher adherence to rape myths (overall and between each of the four rape myth subscales) than female criminal justice majors. The findings suggest targeted and gendered prevention efforts may be necessary to effectively reduce the endorsement of rape myths on college campuses, which, in turn, could decrease incidents of sexual violence on college campuses.