Study reports college females at risk for sexual assault

Female college students face increased risk of sexual assault on college campuses, according to the results of a federally-funded report released today.

The study examined the prevalence and nature of sexual assault on American college campuses amidst national concerns over campus safety. Released by the U.S. Department of Justice's National Institute of Justice and the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the study surveyed a random sample of 4,446 female college students at 2- and 4-year colleges and universities in the United States, whose enrollment was at least 1,000 students.

Of the women surveyed, the study reported that within an academic year:

• about 3 percent experience a completed and/or attempted rape
  
• about 1.7 percent are victims of attempted rape
  
• about 1.7 percent are coerced into having sex
• about 13 percent have been stalked since the beginning of the school year
  

Of the incidents of completed rapes, 60 percent took place in the victim's residences, while 31 percent occurred off-campus and another 10 percent at a fraternity, according to the study.

About nine in 10 sexual offenders of both completed and attempted rapes were known to the victim, said Bonnie Fisher, Francis Cullen and Michael Turner, the authors of the report.

"Most often, a boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, classmate, friend acquaintance or coworker sexually victimized the women," they said.

The authors also estimated that a college with 10,000 female students could experience more than 350 incidents of rape a year. That means, for every 1,000 females, there may well be 35 rapes.

But Fisher, a professor at the University of Cincinnati, also reported many women do not characterize their sexual victimizations as a crime for reasons such as embarrassment, confusion over the legal definition of rape and personal guilt.

The recent attention to the issue of sexual victimization of college women is prompted by concerns of rising criminal activity on college campuses, based on research that has shown college students are not free from the risk of criminal victimization.

The results of this study, in combination with previous research, suggest college women are particularly at risk for rape and other forms of sexual assault on campuses. The report provides policy implications for college administrators in their efforts to improve education about sexual assault and increase campus safety nationwide.

For more information regarding national safety and justice, visit:
National Criminal Justice Reference Service
U.S. Department of Justice