At the University of Texas, 15 Percent of Women Undergraduates Report Being Raped

During a debate on the floor of the State Senate in Texas last week, Senator Joan Huffman revealed that a survey of 28,000 undergraduate students at 13 different campus of the University of Texas found that 15 percent of women undergraduate students at the University of Texas at Austin reported that they had been raped. Senator Huffman said “15 percent of women who go to their university are raped. Raped. That’s unacceptable. It’s beyond troubling. It’s shocking.”

After the senator disclosed the results of the report, the university released the survey in full. It may be downloaded here.

Furthermore, the report found that 28 percent of undergraduate women at the University of Texas at Austin said they were the victims of unwanted sexual touching, and 12 percent experienced attempted rape.

Gregory L. Fenves, president of the University of Texas at Austin, issued a statement that read in part: “This survey is a wake-up call to me, as it should be for every student, faculty member and staff member at UT Austin. I have said throughout my presidency that sexual misconduct will not be tolerated. Every individual who serves our university must feel valued, respected and free to learn and work in a safe environment. But what this survey makes clear is that many on our campus have not had that experience. We have let them down and we need to improve — not in a year, not in a month, but right now. The first injustice committed in every assault or inappropriate behavior is the act itself, but the second injustice is often the silence of the community surrounding that victim. We must not be silent anymore, and we must not be afraid to face this problem.”