New Data on Sexual Assaults on College Campuses

The widely used statistic that one of every five women is sexually assaulted while attending college, has received widespread criticism due to the narrow focus of the data. Now, EverFi, an educational technology company that offers sexual assault prevention training, has surveyed more than 500,000 students at 400 colleges and universities across the United States.

The survey found that 13 percent of women students said they had been sexually assaulted before college. But only 3 percent of college women reported having been sexually assaulted during their first few months on a college campus. Some 9 percent of women students reported being a victim of sexual assault by their senior year in college.

The survey also asked students if they were willing to intervene to prevent sexual assault on campus. Some 81 percent said that they would. But only 55 percent of respondents said that most students on campus would intervene in such situation. Some 89 percent of respondents said that they would respect a peer who intervened to prevent a sexual assault.

The full report, Sexual Victimization and Social Norms on the College Campus, may be downloaded by clicking here.