Statistics on sexual assaults in Utah higher education

This archived article was written by: Nathaniel Woodward

Nathaniel Woodward
editor in chief
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A report, released on Monday, cited evidence from a survey of over two-dozen university campuses involving nearly a million students. In the end, the study showed that a quarter of women have or will have experienced unwanted sexual contact while in college. The number for men was five percent. The Cleveland Rape Crisis website which provided the study, published several more facts in regards to sexual violence including:
Survivors of rape or sexual assault are four times more likely to be victimized by someone they know.
Every 21 hours there is a rape on an American college campus.
Freshman and sophomore women during the first weeks of a semester are most at risk.
One in 12 college-age men admit having fulfilled the prevailing definition of rape or attempted rape, yet virtually none of these men identify themselves as rapists.
Seventy-five percent of men and 55 percent of women involved in acquaintance rapes were drinking or taking dugs just before the attack.
Men are more likely than women to assume that a woman who drinks alcohol on a date is a willing sexual partner. Forty percent of men who think this way also believe it is acceptable to force sex on an intoxicated woman.
College-rape victims receive external physical injuries in over 47 percent of all rapes.
Utah State University provided its own statistics on sexual violence:
Almost 60 percent of completed rapes occur in the victims residence, 31 percent occur in another residence; 9.8 percent of victims in Utah report to law enforcement.
Nationwide, one-third of college men reported they would rape a woman if they knew they would not get caught.
Statewide, according to the national database at ope.ed.gov, Utah’s largest schools reported the numbers of sexual assaults from the latest year data was collected in 2013: USU (all campuses)- 5, University of Utah – 21, Brigham Young University – 16, Utah Valley University – 0, Salt Lake Community College – 2, Snow- 1, Southern Utah University – 6, LDS Business College – 2, Weber – 3, Westminster – 1 and Dixie – 2.
All statistics provided were pulled from reputable websites including governmental agencies. All universities are required to file a report of their yearly crime statistics which is where this data was obtained.