BU releases report detailing sexual assault on campus
On Monday, the Association of American Universities published the findings of what it called the largest ever survey conducted on college sexual violence. Although BU is a member of the association, it declined to participate in the survey in favor of conducting its own.
The university’s survey, which was conducted last spring, was published in full on Thursday.
The findings from the BU survey are consistent with the national report. The AAU survey found that nearly one in four women are sexually assaulted on college campuses. The BU survey also reported that nearly one in four women—23 percent—were sexually assaulted during their time on BU’s campus. Further, at BU, one in six students, regardless of how they identified their gender, said they were assaulted.
The university is one of more than 100 schools under investigation by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights for its handling of sexual assault cases. In February, the university adopted a new Title IX policy that created separate investigation and disciplinary tracks for complaints against students and those against staff members. The updated policy also aimed to provide clearer information about how BU would work to resolve sexual misconduct complaints.
In the survey, however, nearly 27 percent of students said they didn’t believe that BU would take corrective action against the perpetrator of a sexual assault. Females and students with nonbinary genders—two groups that reported the highest rates of assault—were much less likely to believe their reports would be taken seriously.
An overwhelming number of survivors—84 percent—told someone about the assault. But that doesn’t mean they officially reported it. The survey showed 73 percent told a friend, while only 6 percent reported the assault to officials. Only 4 individuals said they reported incidents to the Title IX Coordinator or a Deputy Title IX Coordinator.
Sophie Godley, a member of the BU sexual misconduct task force, told BU Today that, because of the amount of self-blame that comes after an assault, she wasn’t surprised students didn’t go to counselors and instead sought support from people they already knew.
“We have to make sure that we have every door open at BU and that you get the loving support you need, and hopefully that will lead people to [the Sexual Assault Response & Prevention Center],’’ she said. “It’s not enough to say, ‘We have this great new center, and everyone should go there.’’’
The BU survey also addressed alcohol use and consent, much like the national survey. The AAU survey found that alcohol was involved in many assaults, and BU was no exception. At BU, 78 percent of victims said they had been drinking alcohol at the time of the assault, and 86 percent reported that their assailant had been drinking.
Still, there was some good news. Most students—94 percent—said they felt safe on campus. And, 90 percent of men who responded said they understood that an absence of saying no is not the same thing as sexual consent.
At the end of the survey, the task force made recommendations for ways that members of the BU community can become involved with the issue. Most dealt with promoting a more open discussion on campus. The university will also put out another survey during the upcoming spring semester.
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