Sexual Violence Facts and Statistics

This may be especially true on a college campus, where people live and study in close quarters, and where the futures and reputations of both students and institutions are at stake.

Yet all evidence suggests that there is a significant but rarely discussed problem at Tech-as on most college campuses.

Sexual Violence Facts

On or off college campuses, we know:

• Sexual violence occurs in this society at a level that is often described as "epidemic."
• A disproportionate number of rape victims and perpetrators are between the usual college ages of 18-24.
• Most victims of sexual assault are women or children.
• Most perpetrators of sexual assault are men (whether spouse, date, or family, acquaintance or stranger).
• Perpetrators of sexual violence usually know the person they assault and are often otherwise "normal" people.
• Many people are understandably reluctant to believe some of these facts. A variety of myths about rape and sexual violence help hide the truth. For example, it is in some ways easier to believe that "rapists" are crazy, knife-wielding maniacs. But most often, they are not or it may be easier to believe only a naive or careless person can be raped, but this is not the case.

Understandably, most men do not want to believe that they could be anything like a "rapist." Most women do not want to believe that the men they know could be anything like this either, and that, therefore, they might be at risk. It takes courage to take an honest look at this issue.

Sexual violence against college women

According to the national averages reported in a recent study:

• There may be 150 acts of rape or attempted rape committed each year against female GT students … based on an average of 35 incidents per 1,000 women per academic year at institutions of higher education.
• The percentage of female students victimized during their careers at GT may be 20-25% … given that nearly 5% of college women are victims of rape or attempted rape each calendar year.
• Fewer than 5% of completed and attempted rapes are reported to the police. (For the period 1996-2001, 25 forcible sexual offenses were reported to the GT police).
• In about 2/3 of incidents, the victim does tell someone – usually a friend.
• Most sexual aggression against college women is committed by a man they know, at night, and in the privacy of a residence.
• Only 46% of women whose assault met the definition of completed rape thought of themselves as rape victims.
  

Some other relevant findings

• 75% of male students and 55% of female students involved in date rape had been drinking or using drugs (Koss, “Hidden Rape,” Rape and Sexual Assault, Vol. II, 1998).
• 55% of men reported one or more instances of non-assaultive coercion to obtain sex - i.e., threatening to end the relationship, falsely professing love, telling lies to get sex (Boeringer, 1996, “Influences of Fraternity Membership …,” Violence Against Women, 5: 251-71).
  

Sexual violence against men

From the National Violence Against Women Survey (2000):

• 3% of men report surviving rape or attempted rape as a child or adult.*
  It is estimated that 1 out of 10 acts of rape or attempted rape are committed against a man.*
• Most sexual aggression against men or boys is committed by a man they know.
• Though more reliable statistics are hard to come by, these almost certainly under-estimate the true incidence and prevalence of assaults against men and boys.

Same-gender sexual violence

Note: Perpetrators and victims of sexual violence can be of any sexual orientation, just as they can be of any gender. A perpetrator’s gender and sexual orientation also do not determine whom they choose to assault.

• Sexual violence occurs within same-gender relationships at a level which may be comparable to that within heterosexual relationships.
• In one study of gay men and lesbians, 52% reported at least one incident of sexual coercion by same-sex partners (Waldner-Hagrud, “Sexual Coercion in Gay/Lesbian Relationships,” Violence and Victims, 1997, 12(1)).