College Rape Statistics
How common is rape and sexual assault on college campuses?
You can learn more about sexual abuse research on college campuses by viewing the previously cited papers listed below and the papers available on Data.gov or by clicking on the link. In addition, the following statistics illustrate the prevalence of sexual abuse among college students, and there is still much work to be done to end campus sexual abuse.
26.4% of women and 6.8% of men are raped or sexually assaulted with physical force, violence, or disability among college students. Among graduate students and specialists, 9.7% of women and 2.5% of men are subjected to rape or sexual abuse using physical force, violence, or disability. No one knows exactly how big the problem is. Still, a recent survey by the Association of American Universities found that about 20% of college students are sexually assaulted or sexually abused at some point in college.1 Other studies have also shown … frequent sexual abuse of men, accounting for 6-8 percent.
While there is disagreement over methodology and definition, there is no doubt about the severity of the problem. However, since the institutional structures are different, the topic of the attack on the campus requires a separate, albeit brief, consideration.
In terms of victims, white women, first-year students who are not on college campuses, previous victims, and more sexually active women are more vulnerable to sexual abuse. In addition, while research and statistics tend to focus on female victims, male victims also report less sexual harassment, perhaps because of the shame, humiliation, or stigma surrounding vulnerable men. Finally, most of the victims on campus do not report sexual assault, mainly due to a lack of confidence in how they will be treated in the community (friends, family, peers, professors, university in general, etc.).
At the University of Virginia, recalled in 2014 by Rolling Stone magazine about a later discredited frat gang rape report, 13% of college students reported being violently sexually assaulted, threatened, or unable to consent or stop doing what happened – the same indicator as in 2015. A climate survey on the MIT campus (which measures the prevalence and attitudes towards gender-based violence) found that 17% of female students were assaulted during enrollment.
Unresolved college rapes
Most unresolved college rapists may be serial criminals, each committing an average of 6 rapes. In addition, men aged 18 to 24 who go to college are five times more likely to be raped or sexually assaulted than non-students. The 2015 AAU Campus Climate Survey report found that transgender and gender substandard students are more likely to be sexually assaulted due to physical strength or disability than their peers.
Over the past four years, the rate of sexual assault across the 21 campuses in both surveys has increased by an average of a couple of percentage points for female students and men (about 7% of them reported non-consensual or violent sexual intercourse at the same time). However, they could not agree). Participating universities were not randomly selected, and the researchers found large differences across campuses, including reported rates of sexual abuse among college students, ranging from 14 to 32 percent. The study involved more than 6,000 students from 32 colleges and universities in the United States.
A report from the Department of Justice in 2000 found that 7% of Asian American women were raped. This number will almost certainly decline because Asian American women are less likely to report rape and physical assault than any ethnic group. Or race. Research shows that rape victims are 13 times more likely to attempt suicide than non-crime victims (1).
Individuals with multiple disabilities experience even higher levels of violence. We provide data for non-student survivors to better understand the types of violence these groups face. For example, a new study of sexual assault on campuses in American universities found that in 33 major universities, more than a quarter of female students were sexually assaulted during their studies.
Shockingly, he added that 40% to 50% of women who attended college said they had been attacked during their four years on campus. Another study found that in large universities with at least 10,000 female students, over 350 rapes can occur in a year (2). Several studies have reported that the risk of sexual assault is higher for freshmen or sophomore college students and that sexual assault occurs more frequently between August and November when many students first come to campus. According to a 2019 survey, the rate of non-consensual sex in colleges is 13%.
Because of the security threats on and around campus, college students need to understand what sexual assault is, know their rights in the event of an assault, and become familiar with educational resources on the subject. AAUW regularly monitors how schools and universities are reporting sexual harassment and assault. Each public school that receives federal funding and colleges and universities participating in federal financial aid programs must disclose this information. In addition, the Clery Act requires universities and colleges that receive federal financial assistance to disclose crime on and around campus, including incidents of sexual assault.
Some campuses have widely available information to help staff respond, while others assist when students detect an attack. If a student discloses sexual harassment or assault to any faculty, staff, or manager, that person must immediately notify the Part IX coordinator of the applicant’s name. At the same time, the coordinator can advise applicants on how the process works. For example, ask whether the university has signed a memorandum of understanding with the local rape crisis center or the local police station, which outlines how they will cooperate to prevent sexual abuse, cooperate with investigation needs, protect the privacy of victims, and provide options for student victims.
The American Association of University Women created this resource to help university faculty and staff guide students to discuss the issue of sexual violence prevention. The American Association of University Women provides comprehensive resources that students can use to understand how they are protected on campus and go to court in sexual assault cases. In addition, some universities are investing in training resident teachers, staff, and assistants to understand their legal responsibilities, how to properly respond to students’ reports of sexual assault, and where to refer victims to seek support.
In 2014, a survey of college and university assault policies, requested by the US Senate, found that more than 40 percent of the schools studied had not conducted a single rape or sexual assault survey in the past five years or more. Of the 20%, they could not investigate the attacks they reported to the Department of Education. While laws exist to prevent sexual abuse, colleges and universities are struggling to meet the needs of assaulted students.
When many people, including survivors of sexual assault, hear about one in five statistics being contested, it may seem like they are being told that college sexual assault does not matter much. However, it is clear that only a very small number, between 2% and 13%, report the attack to the police, making it the most unreported crime.
Resources on college rape and sexual assault:
bostonherald.com/2021/09/28/advocates-say-rapes-in-college-towns-underreported-in-fbi-crime-data/
aauw.org/resources/article/underreported-sexual-misconduct/
brookings.edu/research/thoughts-about-sexual-assault-on-college-campuses/
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campus_sexual_assault
students.umw.edu/counseling/sexual-assault-information/statistics/
pcar.org/about-sexual-violence/campus-sexual-assault
4grewallaw.com/blog/2021/august/college-campus-sexual-assault-statistics-infogra/
rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence
motherjones.com/crime-justice/2019/10/campus-sexual-assault-survey/
knowyourix.org/issues/statistics/