Tell Me Your Story: The Narratives of Sexual Assault Survivors on One College Campus

Dorothy C. Suskind; Gretchen Yoder

doi:10.66815/ajqr/19489

Dorothy C. Suskind ¹ ^* , Gretchen Yoder ²

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AM J QUALITATIVE RES, Volume 10, Issue 4, pp. 222-246

https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/19489

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Abstract

Approximately 20% of college students will be sexually assaulted during their university years, leading to prolonged physical and emotional repercussions. Out of fear, rebuke, and dismissal, most survivors choose not to report the attack. Those who do report often experience unsatisfactory outcomes. The cultural climate of college life, coupled with gendered scripts ingrained before campus enrollment, contributes to environments that conflate sex and power, dismiss consent, and allow campus complicity. To help break the silence, we collected the stories of 129 sexual assault survivors at one small state college in the Southeastern United States. Using basic demographic information and qualitative analysis, four themes emerged across narratives. Threaded throughout each theme’s description are direct quotes from survivors, boldly telling their stories. Study findings highlight survivors’ experiences centered on ambiguity and trust violations, ongoing impact, social and institutional betrayals, and suggestions from survivors. Lastly, survivors provide firsthand suggestions for making campuses more just, safe, and responsive.

Keywords: sexual assault, stories, college students, campus, U.S.A., narrative inquiry

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Citation

Suskind, D. C., & Yoder, G. (2026). Tell Me Your Story: The Narratives of Sexual Assault Survivors on One College Campus. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(4), 222-246. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/19489

Suskind, D. C., and Yoder, G. (2026). Tell Me Your Story: The Narratives of Sexual Assault Survivors on One College Campus. American Journal of Qualitative Research, 10(4), pp. 222-246. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/19489

Suskind DC, Yoder G. Tell Me Your Story: The Narratives of Sexual Assault Survivors on One College Campus. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2026;10(4), 222-246. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/19489

Suskind, Dorothy C., and Gretchen Yoder. "Tell Me Your Story: The Narratives of Sexual Assault Survivors on One College Campus". American Journal of Qualitative Research 2026 10 no. 4 (2026): 222-246. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/19489

Suskind, Dorothy C. et al. "Tell Me Your Story: The Narratives of Sexual Assault Survivors on One College Campus". American Journal of Qualitative Research, vol. 10, no. 4, 2026, pp. 222-246. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/19489

Suskind DC, Yoder G. Tell Me Your Story: The Narratives of Sexual Assault Survivors on One College Campus. AM J QUALITATIVE RES. 2026;10(4):222-46. https://doi.org/10.66815/ajqr/19489