32% of female students report sexual contact without their consent

Content warning: This article discusses sexual assault and harassment in detail.

Results released Last Monday, a study by Higher Education Sexual Misconduct and Awareness (HESMA) found that most reported sexual assaults at Stanford University take place in residence halls and are committed by other students.

The numbers are “troubling,” university president Jon Levin ’94 told The Daily.

“This is something we can and should do better at,” Levin said. “I think the university has an opportunity, from the moment students arrive… to have an effective Title IX process.”

The study also found that most non-consensual sexual contact occurs when both parties are under the influence of alcohol. Women and undergraduate students who identified as nonbinary, transgender, questioning, and/or self-identified (GNTQSI) reported the highest rates of sexual assault, harassment, intimate partner violence (IPV), and stalking. Compared with other schools that conducted the survey, about the same percentage of students at Stanford University reported experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact.

The report provides insight into the incidence of sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual harassment-related behavior at the university. It also details Stanford students’ views on sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior at the University, including their own knowledge of Stanford University policies. reporting system and resources.

The study was conducted between April 30 and May 30 this year Westatprivate research company focused on health, education and social sciences. Of the 10 schools participating in the study, Stanford had the highest response rate of 43% of undergraduate and graduate students, with a total of 7,583 responses. As an incentive, the university offered $25 to all students who completed the survey.

The Covid-19 pandemic makes the 2024 study cohort incomparable to the 2019 cohort

In October 2019similar data was collected by the American University (AAU) Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Misconduct. The AAU discontinued service of coordinating all institutions for the purposes of this study, which is why the University was looking for a similar instrument for the study in 2024.

The 2024 Westat survey differs from the 2019 AAU survey in that it includes more question options regarding gender identity, race and ethnicity.

Disparities in students’ social experiences due to the Covid-19 pandemic limits possibility of comparing data for 2019 and 2024 according to Stanford results page. While the 2019 cohort of students observed standard on-campus social experiences, the 2024 cohort of juniors and seniors engaged in remote learning for at least a year and later implemented social distancing policies that limited social contact. Due to drastic differences in experiences, students who learned remotely may have contributed to fewer sexual assaults and harassment on campus.

The number of sexual assaults and harassment is decreasing in most groups compared to 2019

Given the impossibility of directly comparing studies from 2019 and 2024 due to the pandemic, the rate of unforced sexual contact using physical force or lack of consent for female students decreased from 23.8% in 2019 to 18, 4% in 2024. Female students also saw a decline from 9.1% to 6.6%, as did GNTQSI students from 21.7% to 15.5%. For male students, no statistically significant changes were observed in these data.

For female undergraduate students, sexual contact without consent or without active, ongoing consensual communication decreased by 6.3% (18.1% to 11.8%). There was no statistically significant change for male, female or male GNTQSI students.

There was a statistically significant decrease from 10.4% in 2019 to 8.4% in the incidence of unforced sexual contact (penetration or sexual touching) involving the use of physical force or the inability to consent since entering school for female students. There was also a significant decline for female graduates from 3.0% to 2.2%, with no change for male and GNTQSI students.

Non-consensual sexual contact under duress or without active, ongoing consensual consent showed a 2.5% decrease for female undergraduates (8.2%-5.7%) and a 1.0% decrease for male undergraduates male (2.2%–1.2%).

The harassment rate also dropped from 37% to 31% for female undergraduate students and from 26.3% to 23.2% for female graduate students. GNTQSI students saw a decline of 12.3% (from 55% to 42.7%).

There was no change in IPV for females, but there was a statistically significant decrease for GNTQSI students (18.1%-9.4%) and males (9.7%-6.4%).

There was no change in stalking among female students, but for undergraduate students the rate increased from 2.4% in 2019 to 4.2% in 2014.

18% of female students admit that they have experienced sexual violence

The study clearly defines sexual assault and harassment for data collection. Sexual assault can occur through penetration or sexual touching.

If the student answered “yes” to having experienced sexual violence, the survey included an additional question about the method of assault – use of physical force, inability to consent, coercion or without free consent. 18.4% of female undergraduates and 6.6% of male undergraduates reported being victims of nonconsensual sexual contact (penetration and/or sexual touching) involving physical force or an inability to consent. Among graduates, 6.6% of women and 2.2% of men admitted that contact took place without their consent. 18.1% of GNTQSI undergraduates and 12.8% of GNTQSI graduates, respectively, responded “yes.”

8% of female students reported experiencing penetrative sexual assault, as did 2.6% of undergraduate students. 4.9% of women said the tactic was the use of physical force, 3.2% said there was no opportunity to consent, and 1.6% reported both tactics. For men with bachelor’s degrees, the numbers were 1.3% and 1.0%.

Different definitions of the effects of sexual assault

One of the nuances of collecting sexual assault data is how different tactics affect the numbers. Although Westat typically included physical strength and inability to consent in its report, Stanford Analysis it included all four tactics: physical force, inability to consent, coercion, and lack of active and ongoing voluntary agreement. With this additional tactic, the numbers are higher for all groups in Stanford’s analysis. Stanford’s analysis found that 11.5% of undergraduate women and 3.2% of undergraduate men had experienced penetrative sexual assault. Additionally, over the course of four years of undergraduate study, 32% of female undergraduate students experience some type of non-consensual sexual contact, as do 36% of female GNTQSI students and 10% of male undergraduate students. In the same category, we observe 11%, 24% and 4% for female graduates, GNTQSI students and males respectively.

10.4% of GNTQSI undergraduate students report penetrative sexual assault

Together with the students – who constitute the group most at risk of sexual violence on campuses across the country — GTSQI students reported a high number of assaults. 10.4% of GNTQSI undergraduate students experienced penetrative sexual assault (using physical force or inability to consent), with 5.7% reporting that the tactic was physical force alone. 5.9% of GNTQSI graduates reported penetrative sexual assault involving physical force or inability to consent, and 2.5% reported that the tactic was physical force alone.

5.6% of heterosexual students – compared to 15.9% of non-heterosexual students – reported nonconsensual sexual contact involving physical force or an inability to consent. More non-heterosexual students also reported instances of lack of active, ongoing voluntary consent compared to heterosexual students.

Students who reported a disability reported three times (16.6%) the number of incidental sexual encounters compared to students without disabilities (5.0%) involving physical force or inability to consent.

More than 40% of Stanford students report having experienced sexual harassment

The study defined “sexually harassing behavior.”” as cases where, for example, “someone makes sexual comments or tells sexual jokes or stories that are offensive” or “makes inappropriate and offensive comments about you or another person’s body, appearance or sexual activities.” These behaviors are counted as sexual harassment if students report that they have experienced at least one of three ways: interfering with the victim’s academic or job performance, limiting the victim’s ability to participate in an academic program, or creating a hostile environment.

40.4% of all students said they had experienced at least one type of harassment since starting their studies. If the student answered yes, the survey asked a follow-up question about the impact of these behaviors on the student’s life. 19.6% of students responded that the behavior affected them in at least one way, meaning they experienced sexual harassment through a combination of behavior and tactics.

Intimate relationship violence and stalking

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a form of abuse by a partner that involves controlling behavior, threats of harm, or actual force. Of the 68.5% of Stanford students who reported being in a relationship, 7.2% reported experiencing at least one type of IPV. In the survey, HESMA provided a specific definition of IPV, asking students whether they had received “unwanted messages, photos, or videos,” whether they had been “personally spied on, viewed, or followed,” and more. 14.3% of students indicated that they had experienced at least one form of stalking.

Knowledge of school policies and procedures regarding sexual violence

Students believe they are less knowledgeable about the reporting process and policies in 2024 than they were in 2019. For female undergraduate students, 29.4% said they were very or very knowledgeable about the process in 2019 compared from 27.1% in 2024

Approximately 28.9% of gender-congruent students and alumni believe they are very or very knowledgeable about Stanford’s policies and procedures regarding sexual violence. 24.2% of GNTQSI undergraduate students agreed with this, as did 37.0% of GNTQSI graduates. It is worth noting that 24.5% of students said they were very or very knowledgeable about where to file a Title IX report, while only 15.6% said they were very or very knowledgeable about what happens after the incident is reported.

Student concerns about sexual assault and other inappropriate behavior at Stanford University are decreasing

Women on campus showed an overall decrease in the view that sexual assault and misconduct at Stanford University was very or extremely problematic from 45.4% to 37.0%. For female students, this percentage dropped from 27.3% to 23.9%. The vast majority of GNTQSI students said sexual assault and misconduct at Stanford University was very or extremely problematic in a 2024 survey.

Only 13.4% of students believe that school authorities care very or very much about their well-being.