Sexual Assault Statistics at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Sexual assault on college campuses is a significant public health concern, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are no exception. While much research has focused on Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs), there's a growing need to understand the prevalence, risk factors, and unique challenges related to sexual assault at HBCUs. This article will explore the available data and studies on this critical issue.

Understanding the Scope of the Problem

The Department of Justice’s National Crime Victimization Survey reports an average of 293,066 victims (age 12 or older) of rape and sexual assault each year. Approximately 19.3% of women have experienced rape, and 43.9% have experienced other forms of sexual assault, including unwanted sexual contact or sexual coercion. College campuses are not immune to this issue, with one in five women and one in 16 men being sexually assaulted during their college years.

Sexual assault is defined as any sexual acts committed against someone without that person’s freely given consent. It can include activities such as incest, molestation, fondling, or forced sexual intercourse. Women between the ages of 18 and 24 are at a higher risk of experiencing sexual assault.

The HBCU-CSA Study: A Closer Look

To address the gap in research on sexual assault at HBCUs, The Historically Black College and University Campus Sexual Assault (HBCU-CSA) Study was undertaken to document the prevalence, personal and behavioral factors, context, consequences, and reporting of distinct forms of sexual assault. This study examined campus police and service provider perspectives on sexual victimization and student attitudes toward law enforcement and ideas about prevention and policy.

The HBCU-CSA Study, conducted in the fall of 2008, involved a Web-based survey of undergraduate women, campus law enforcement, and service provider personnel at four HBCUs. These HBCUs varied in size, geography, and type (e.g., public or private) and were selected based on existing collaborations, interest in participation, and institutional capacity for participation. A total of 3,951 undergraduate women participated in the HBCU-CSA Survey.

Survey Modules

The survey was divided into six modules:

Background Information: Demographics, school classification, residential characteristics, academic performance, and social involvement.
Alcohol and Drug Use: Frequency of alcohol and drug consumption since entering college, including binge drinking, risk behaviors, and experiences with involuntary drug ingestion.
Health Information
Dating: Questions were asked about both victimization and perpetration of emotional and physical abuse.
Experiences: Information on sexual assault and victimization, including physically forced sexual assault and sexual assault occurring when the respondent was incapacitated
Attitudes: Student attitudes toward law enforcement and ideas about prevention and policy.

The Experiences module included a series of gate questions for numerous forms of non-consensual sexual contact experienced by the victim. Questions were asked separately for the two types of sexual assault (physically forced and incapacitated) and included items on the number of incidents, the specific types of assaults that occurred, the number of perpetrators, the relationship between the victim and the perpetrator(s), characteristics of the perpetrator(s), alcohol or drug use by the perpetrator(s) or victim, the location of the incidents, the timing of the incidents, use of weapons by perpetrator(s), injuries sustained, disclosure about the incidents to family or friends, victim's, crisis, or health care centers and law enforcement; physical examinations or drug tests received; drugs tested positive for; satisfaction with reporting the incidents; reasons for not reporting the incidents; other actions (both personal and academic) taken as a result of the incidents; legal consequences experienced by the perpetrator; and whether the respondent considered the incident to be rape.

The law enforcement and service provider survey was divided into eight sections which included Background Information, Prevalence, Reporting, Context of Sexual Assaults, Attitudes, Policies and Practice, Preventative Activities and Recommendations. Background Information included survey items on years employed by university and in current position, sex, age, and race/ethnicity. presence of the characteristic made them more or less likely to believe the woman's account of the assault. Policies and Practices included items about strategies for improving universities' responses to sexual assault incidents and better meeting the needs of victims. Respondents were asked about their university's use of these policies and practices and whether it was effective (if the university used it) or whether it would likely be effective (if the university did not currently use it).

Key Findings from the HBCU-CSA Study

The HBCU-CSA study revealed that:

14.9% of women reported experiencing attempted or completed sexual assault prior to entering college.
14.2% reported experiencing attempted or completed sexual assault since beginning college.
3.8% of women experience physically forced rape, and 4.8% experienced rape while incapacitated and unable to provide consent.
4.0% of women were victims of alcohol or other drugs (AOD) which includes the victim voluntarily consuming alcohol prior to the incident and 0.3% were victims of DFSA.

The HBCU-CSA study also examined risk factors among victims of sexual assault at an HBCU. Prior victimization is associated with experiencing sexual assault after entering college. Women dating at least one person after entering college compared to those not dating were more likely to experience any type of sexual assault. Compared to women with no male sexual partners, women who had between one and five male sexual partners since entering college were more likely to experience incapacitated sexual assault and those with more than five male sexual partners were more likely to experience all types of sexual assault. Women who reported getting drunk were likely to be victims of incapacitated sexual assault.

Read also: Abduction at an HBCU

Risk Factors and Outcomes

The study described individual and behavioral risk factors associated with sexual assault. The type of sexual assault was associated with a given risk factor. Factors such as prior victimization and party attendance were associated with physically forced sexual assault. Behavioral influences such as substance use and depression were associated with incapacitated sexual assault. Victims of incapacitated sexual assault reported engaging in alcohol or drugs prior to the incident.

Women victimized by sexual assault were found to have significantly more symptoms of depression and were more likely to experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to women who had not been sexually assaulted. Sexual assault victims were more likely to report the incident to family, friends, law enforcement, or crisis centers.

Additional Research and Statistics

A more recent study examined the prevalence, correlates, and outcomes of sexual assault at an HBCU. Participants in the study were 264 undergraduate students from an HBCU in the mid-Atlantic region. The majority of participants were female (71%), African American (91%), and seniors (41%). Findings revealed that since starting college about 20% of students experienced sexual contact without consent. Of those sexually assaulted, 20% reported they were incapacitated or under the influence of alcohol (15%) at the time of the assault. About 17% of those assaulted experienced a physical injury and/or poor mental health outcomes (e.g., anxiety, depression, flashbacks).

Participants reported not disclosing information of their assault due to embarrassment, afraid of retaliation from the perpetrator, believing it was a private matter. Close friends were more likely to be told about sexual assault.

Prevalence Rates by Gender and Class Standing

As shown in Table 1, women were significantly more likely to report sexual assault compared to men. Table 2 shows that upperclassmen were more likely to report being sexually assaulted compared to lowerclassmen. Since becoming a student, 20.2% reported experiencing verbal or non-physical coercion and a smaller percentage reported attempted verbal or non-physical coercion (11.4%).

Of the 34 participants who reported experiencing sexual assault since becoming a student, 5 participants (15%) had been drinking alcohol.

Barriers to Reporting

Sexual assault is highly underreported. Victims are more likely to disclose to friends and less likely to formally report the incident to authorities. Psychological and legal barriers discourage college students who are victims of sexual assault from reporting.

Barriers to reporting for women included fear of retaliation by the perpetrator, financial dependence, did not want family or friend to be prosecuted, and lack of resources to obtain help. Men’s barriers to reporting included shame, embarrassment, confidentiality concerns, and fear of not being believed. Many women often may not report because they know the perpetrator. Men are less likely to report due to masculinity stereotypes.

Alcohol and drug use are other factors that explain college students not reporting to law enforcement. Self-blame typically occurs when the victim was under the influence. Typically, both the perpetrator and the victim had consumed alcohol. Alcohol effects on motors skills may limit women’s ability to resist sexual assault attempts. It also affects perceptions of responsibility. Alcohol consumption among men is perceived to be justification for inappropriate behavior allowing them to feel comfortable when engaging in such risky behaviors. However, some women who consume alcohol may take the blame for sexual assault.

Addressing the Issue

These findings suggest that sexual assault is a problem on college campuses, including HBCUs, and must be addressed. College and university administrators, faculty, staff, and students are aware of campus sexual assault, yet it remains a significant problem on college campuses.

It is common that college-aged female victims know their offender in about 80% of rape and sexual assault victimization. Incapacitation of the victim is more prevalent among women. Incapacitation involves the use of alcohol or drug use, being passed out, asleep, or being unable to consent regardless of the perpetrator being responsible or the victim’s own actions to participate in substance use.

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