Campus Rape

According to the “Statistics About Sexual Violence” report by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center: “One in 5 women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college … More than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault.”1

Federally funded schools, colleges and universities are required under Title IX to address “sexual harassment, sexual violence, or any gender-based discrimination that may deny a person access to educational benefits and opportunities.”2

In addition to Title IX, these same institutions must disclose sexual crimes such as campus rape under the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act and its amendment The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (Campus SaVE) Act.3

Although some campuses are raising awareness of rape, other sexual crimes  and consent through mandatory courses and other education, there are some who think more sexual education is needed earlier, prior to the freshman year of college and university, when incoming students may be more susceptible to sexual violence like rape.4

The sourced articles below should provide you more information on rape on college and university campuses.

Footnotes: 1. nsvrc.org, accessed 7/25/2018; 2. endrapeoncampus.org, accessed 10/13/2018; 3. rainn.org, accessed 10/14/2018; 4. now.org, 9/4/2018

  1. Clery Act

    “In 1986, freshman Jeanne Clery was raped and murdered in her own campus residence. The event led to increased attention on unreported crimes on numerous college campuses across the country. In 1990, Congress enacted the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act. The Act has been amended five times since enactment to include increased safety and reporting measures, most recently in 2013.”

    Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, (RAINN), rainn.org, accessed on 10/13/2018

  2. Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics

    “Sexual violence on campus is pervasive. …
    – 11.2% of all students experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (among all graduate and undergraduate students).
    – Among graduate and professional students, 8.8% of females and 2.2% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.
    – Among undergraduate students, 23.1% of females and 5.4% of males experience rape or sexual assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation.
    – 4.2% of students have experienced stalking since entering college.”

    Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, (RAINN), rainn.org, accessed on 10/13/2018

  3. What Women Have To Fear From Men In Fraternities

    “To sum up, acceptance of sexual violence in male-dominated organizations may reflect the make-up of the men who join these organizations, not the evolution of the culture of rape acceptance itself. The Seabrook et al. findings suggest, then, that interventions targeted at men of high school age, or even earlier, will ultimately provide the greatest value in changing the culture against the acceptability of violence toward women.”

    Susan Krauss Whitbourne, PhD, psychologytoday.com, 9/18/2018

  4. Proposed Rules Would Reduce Sexual Misconduct Inquiries, Education Dept. Estimates

    “The proposed regulations, which have not been officially published but were previously reported on by The New York Times, seek to bolster the rights of students accused of sexual harassment, reduce liability for institutions and require schools to provide more support to victims.”

    Erica L. Green, nytimes.com, 9/10/2018

  5. Issues Advisory: Redzone And Prevention Education On College Campuses

    “The Redzone refers to a time at the beginning of the first 6 weeks of the fall semester during which campus sexual violence is particularly high. This typically ranges from August-October but some statistics report it can range until the end of the fall semester (which typically begins in the 3rd or 4th week of August for the majority of campuses). Notably, “red zone” poses a particular danger to incoming freshmen. One study concluded that freshmen were two and a half times as likely as students in other years to be the victims of assault, a number which increased for rapes occurring at parties.”

    National Organization for Women, now.org, 9/4/2018

  6. A Step-By-Step Guide To Trump’s New College Sexual-Assault Policy

    “Plenty of schools will probably maintain the same, more stringent Title IX policies they had under Obama, at least at first. Wary of the optics of appearing soft on sexual assault, they’ll likely keep investigating off-campus incidents, and assume broad responsibility for Title IX violations, says Erin Buzuvis, a law professor at Western New England University who specializes in Title IX. But eventually, Buzuvis expects schools to loosen up—if not in their written policies, at least in how they enforce them.”

    Caroline Kitchener and Adam Harris, theatlantic.com, 8/30/2018

  7. Back To School For Survivors

    “One of the biggest keys to my academic success as a survivor has been building up a network of support. Of course, that can be easier said than done. It is a privilege to live and learn in a community of people who support survivors. But the sooner you are able to reach out and establish supports, the more likely you are to find those folks who will be great safety nets for you throughout the school year. You can start by identifying people who have supported you in the past. Is there a friend, family member, or significant other that you’ve relied on? Do they know how to best support you this academic year? If you have a supportive person in your life, now is a great time to reach out and let them know how to help you when the going gets tough.”

    End Rape on Campus (EROC), endrapeoncampus.org, accessed on 8/28/2018; (Broken link removed 2/2023)

  8. Sexual Harassment On Campus

    “One of the most important things that universities can do is have a very clear policy on sexual harassment that defines what is out of bounds, says James Campbell Quick, PhD, a professor of leadership and organizational behavior at the University of Texas at Arlington, who conducts research on harassment. ‘There’s clearly ambiguity in that arena, so universities should focus on defining what’s acceptable and what’s not,’ he says.”

    Zara Abrams, apa.org, 5/2018

  9. 10 Colleges With Mandatory Sexual Assault Education

    “In 2013, the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (SaVE Act) was passed. The SaVE Act is an update to the Clery Act. The Clery Act is a federal legislation that requires colleges and universities participation in federal financial programs to record campus crime statistics and safety policies. The SaVE Act reinforces the Clery act in terms of expanding reporting, response and prevention education requirements around rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault and stalking.”

    Fresh U, Erela Datuowei, freshu.io, 12/31/2017; (Broken link removed 2/2023)

  10. Betsy Devos Reverses Obama-Era Policy On Campus Sexual Assault Investigations

    “Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday scrapped a key part of government policy on campus sexual assault, saying she was giving colleges more freedom to balance the rights of accused students with the need to crack down on serious misconduct.”

    Stephanie Saul and Kate Taylor, nytimes.com, 9/22/2017

  11. 9 In 10 Colleges Reported No Rapes In 2015 Clery Act Stats

    “Clery Act data shows 89 percent of colleges disclosed zero reports of rape in 2015. The figure illustrates the discrepancy between campus crime data taken from student surveys and annual crime reports released by colleges.”

    Campus Safety (CS) magazine, campussafetymagazine.com, 5/12/2017

  12. Rape Myth Acceptance Among College Students In the United States, Japan, And India

    “Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 is a fed- eral civil law that protects all students from discrimination based on sex. Sexual discrimination includes sexual harass- ment, sexual battery, sexual assault, and rape. Title IX applies to all programs and activities that receive federal assistance from local school districts to postsecondary institutions (U.S. Department of Justice, 2016). Title IX is actively enforced to ensure that institutions that receive federal assistance comply with the law (U.S. Department of Education, 2014). Although campus violence against women prevention programs are essential in changing perceptions which may modify behav- ior to reduce or eliminate the number of sexual assaults (Karjane, Fisher, & Cullen, 2005), ongoing efforts to prevent violence against women, including sexual assault, in higher education are still needed (Fleck-Henderson, 2012).”

    Tamara Stephens, Akiko Kamimura, Niwako Yamawaki, Haimanti Bhattacharya, Wenjing Mo1, Ryan Birkholz, Angie Makomenaw, and Lenora M. Olson, sagepub.com, 12/2016

  13. How Prevalent Is Campus Sexual Assault In The United States?

    “Sexual assault on college campuses continues to make national headlines. We know the victims suffer short- and long-term health problems, such as sexually transmitted infections, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic illness and post-traumatic stress disorder. We also know that college students who have been sexually assaulted are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as binge drinking and drug use, and have lowered academic achievement, and they may be at greater risk for revictimization.”

    Lisa Fedina, Jennifer Lynne Holmes and Bethany Backes, nij.gov, 6/3/2016

  14. Study: College Athletes Are More Likely To Gang Rape

    “College athletes aren’t accused more often of rape, according to this data. They represent 15 percent of accused perpetrators in the study, roughly their slice of the student population, according to UE [United Educators, which offers liability insurance to schools]. But they made up 40 percent of multiple-perpetrator attacks reported to schools. In other words, athletes were almost three times as likely to be involved in gang assault. The report points to a ‘culture that promotes hyper-masculinity, sexual aggression and excessive alcohol consumption.’ In all, 10 percent of the sexual assault reports UE examined involved more than one perpetrator. But this could be an overrepresentation of their actual proportion on campus, as alleged victims may be more inclined to report these kinds of attacks.”

    Claire Gordon, america.aljazeera.com, 2/26/2015