National Institute of Justice – How Prevalent Is Campus Sexual Assault in the United States? by Lisa Fedina, Jennifer Lynne Holmes and Bethany Backes

“A review of research from the last 15 years finds that although prevalence rates vary, they all indicate that a substantial number of college students are sexually assaulted. Sexual assault on college campuses continues to make national headlines. We know the victims suffer short- and long-term health problems, such as sexually transmitted infections, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, chronic illness and post-traumatic stress disorder. We also know that college students who have been sexually assaulted are more likely to engage in risky behaviors, such as binge drinking and drug use, and have lowered academic achievement, and they may be at greater risk for revictimization. A number of government and campus initiatives aim to address the problem. For instance, in September 2014, the White House partnered with stakeholders to launch “It’s On Us” and “Not Alone,” national public awareness campaigns focusing on preventing and responding to campus sexual assault. But to truly tackle sexual assault on college campuses, we must understand how often it occurs. How many college students are sexually assaulted, and what factors are associated with higher or lower prevalence rates? Official estimates vary widely. To date, no studies have systematically reviewed prevalence findings in the research on college-based sexual victimization, which would provide greater insight into the extent of the problem, the types of sexual victimization that students experience, and how study methodologies influence the prevalence rates found. To help fill this knowledge gap, we systematically gathered prevalence estimates for campus sexual assault in the U.S. that were published between January 2000 and February 2015. We defined “prevalence” as the reported percentage of study participants who reported sexual victimization since entering college or during a study follow-up period or time frame while attending college.”