Understanding Sexual Misconduct Statistics Among College Students

Sexual violence on college and university campuses is a pervasive problem across the United States. The issue demands attention, prevention, and comprehensive support systems for survivors. This article will explore the scope of the problem, reporting trends, and preventative measures, drawing on available data and research.

The Prevalence of Sexual Assault

One in five women and one in 16 men are sexually assaulted while in college. These statistics underscore the urgent need for proactive measures to ensure student safety.

Statistical Insights from Surveys

The Association of American Universities (AAU) conducted climate surveys on sexual assault and misconduct, providing valuable insights into students' experiences. In 2015 and 2019, these surveys revealed an increase in the rate of nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent. Specifically, for undergraduate women, the rate increased from 2015 to 2019 by 3.0 percentage points (to 26.4 percent). Similar increases were noted for graduate and professional women (2.4 percentage points, reaching 10.8 percent) and undergraduate men (1.4 percentage points, reaching 6.9 percent). These surveys also highlighted that students are increasingly aware of university-sponsored resources for victims of sexual assault and misconduct, though utilization of these resources remains insufficient.

Cornell University Data

According to the 2025 Annual Security Report released by the Cornell Division of Public Safety Clery Compliance Office on Sept. 4, 23 cases of on-campus rape were reported in 2024, which is a decrease from 28 in 2023 and 25 in 2022. The Task Force was created in the wake of several sexual misconduct incidents in fall 2025. An individual reported being drugged and sexually assaulted on Oct. 25, 2024 by multiple males at the Chi Phi fraternity house. That fall, Noah Rebei ’25 was also arrested by CUPD after being discovered hiding under a female resident’s bed in William Keeton House on Oct. 30, 2024.

Factors Contributing to Underreporting

Despite these statistics, it is believed that many incidents of sexual misconduct go unreported.

Fear and Confusion

Reporting sexual violence is often difficult and confusing, especially when it occurs in intimate partner relationships. A crucial first step toward solving problems is accurate reporting and measurement. AAUW analysis has found that educational institutions in the United States are failing to take this step toward preventing and addressing the sexual harassment and assault affecting all students, but particularly women and girls.

Lack of Disclosure

AAUW analyzed data from colleges and universities that participated in federal financial aid programs (virtually all institutions of higher education in the United States, including private ones) and from public and public charter P-12 institutions that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education. That analysis revealed that the vast majority of institutions do not disclose any reported incidents of sexual harassment or sexual assault.

Broader Context

Young adults are at high risk for sexual harassment and sexual assault. Although attention has been given to prevention on college campuses, the need for prevention may be at least as high for young adults who do not attend college as for young adults who do.

Alcohol and Sexual Assault

Alcohol often plays a significant role in incidents of sexual assault. People who commit sexual assault often use alcohol strategically. Of the self-reported perpetrators, 75% reported that they had used alcohol before their most recent perpetration incident. Incidents involving alcohol were much more likely to include attempted or completed rape than incidents without alcohol.

Substance Use Statistics

In 2019, the majority of students who reported experiencing rape and other types of nonconsensual sexual contact said that the perpetrator was drinking alcohol prior to the assault. Additionally, about 3 in 4 students (74.6%) who were assaulted said that they were drinking alcohol prior to the incident. Much fewer students reported that they or their perpetrator were voluntarily using drugs prior to their assault.

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Title IX and Legal Protections

Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. This means that no one can be excluded from participating or subjected to discrimination in a program or activity that received federal funding based on their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. For Title IX, sexual violence falls under the definition of sexual harassment as a form of gender-based discrimination.

Scope of Title IX

Other types of discrimination also covered under Title IX include pregnancy discrimination, failure to provide equal athletic opportunities, sex-based discrimination in a school’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) course and programs, and discriminatory application dress code policies/or enforcement, and retaliation. All school districts, colleges, universities, or institutions that receive federal financial assistance are covered by Title IX. Under Title IX, school districts, colleges, and universities respond promptly in a manner that is not deliberately indifferent to sexual harassment.

Enforcement and Amendments

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) is responsible for enforcing Title IX and provides guidance to institutions in complying with the law. Most recently, the Department of Education released a final rule in April 2024 amending the regulations and implementation of Title IX. These final regulations took effect August 1, 2024.

The Clery Act and Campus SaVE Act

The Department of Education requires colleges and universities to disclose information about crime on campus. The Campus Sexual Violence Elimination (SaVE) Act, as part of the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013, amended the Clery Act, requiring all institutions of higher learning to educate students, faculty, and staff on preventing rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Other Forms of Sexual Misconduct

In addition to sexual assault, other forms of sexual misconduct such as intimate partner violence, stalking, and harassment also occur on college campuses.

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VAWA Offenses

In 2021, nearly 13,000 VAWA offenses were reported on college campuses. 48% of reported VAWA offenses were stalking incidents, 27% were incidents of domestic violence, and 24% were incidents of dating violence. Despite its name, VAWA offenses do not only include offenses against women. The VAWA legally protects victims of these crimes regardless of their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

Harassment Rates

In 2019, transgender, gender-questioning, and nonbinary (TGQN) undergraduate students reported the highest rates of harassment. Nearly 26% of female undergraduate students, 7% of male undergraduate students, and 23% of TGQN undergraduates had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact since enrolling. TGQN undergraduate students reported the highest rates of harassment (65.1%), intimate partner violence (21.5%), and stalking (15.2%) on their college campus. And among all students, nearly 42% reported experiencing sexual harassment on campus since enrolling. This includes behaviors with sexual connotations that interfered with their academic performance or created an intimidating or hostile environment.

Duke University's Approach

Duke University is committed to promoting a culture of equality, responsibility, and support in which all students have an opportunity to thrive. As a recipient of federal government funds, Duke upholds these federal laws.

Policy on Prohibited Conduct

Consistent with federal law, in May 2019, Duke developed the Policy on Prohibited Discrimination Harassment and Related Misconduct (“Policy”), which included sexual harassment and sexual violence. To comply with the Title IX regulations, the University merged the former Student Sexual Misconduct Policy administered by the Office of Student Conduct and Community Standards (“OSCCS”) into the University Policy to create an omnibus policy, which contains uniform definitions of prohibited conduct, reporting options, and resources. The Policy prohibits all forms of sexual misconduct, which includes sexual harassment (Title IX and non-Title IX); sexual assault, dating and domestic violence, stalking (Title IX and non-Title IX); sexual exploitation, and retaliation. The Policy applies to conduct committed by students (undergraduate, graduate, and professional), faculty, staff, and visitors.

Incident Reporting at Duke

During the 2020-2021 fiscal year, there were 15,551 students enrolled at Duke; 6,542 undergraduate students and 9,009 graduate and professional students. The university received 143 reports during the 2020-2021 fiscal year.

Prevention Strategies

Preventing sexual violence requires a comprehensive approach. The CDC recommends activities and strategies at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. Empowering bystanders to disrupt harmful behavior, intervene on behalf of others, and support survivors is crucial.

Bystander Intervention

Empowering bystanders to disrupt harmful behavior, intervene on behalf of others and support survivors is essential in creating a safer campus environment.

Consent Education

Consent should be taught and applied at all levels. However, for some students, it is only once they reach college age that consent becomes part of their conversations and curricula. Consent is an affirmative agreement to do something, either sexual or nonsexual. Consent is an enthusiastic, clearly communicated, and ongoing “yes.” You can’t rely on past sexual interactions and should never assume consent. The absence of “no” is not a “yes.” When sex is consensual, it means everyone involved has agreed to what they are doing and has given their permission. A person who is impaired by drugs or alcohol cannot give consent.

Campus-Wide Strategies

According to a report by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, colleges can work to prevent sexual violence on their campuses in different ways, including:

Using campus climate survey data to understand how students perceive their safety and available resources.
Having experts on campus - this includes employing staff who are well-trained in violence prevention and partnering with community organizations and rape crisis centers.
Developing standard training methods in violence prevention for students, faculty, and staff.
Fostering relationships with referral services.
Ensuring that prevention messaging is inclusive of historically excluded communities on campus.

The "Me Too" Movement

In 2006, activist Tarana Burke launched the collective “Me Too” movement to support women experiencing sexual harassment and sexual assault. The introduction of the campaign to broader audiences via the #MeToo social media movement has expanded national awareness since October 2017.

Alternative Perspectives

Reported rates of sexual harassment were similar for respondents who enrolled in college (30.4%) and respondents who did not enroll in college (29.6%). Similarly, we found no significant difference in sexual assault during early adulthood reported by respondents who enrolled in college (25.1%) and respondents who did not enroll in college (28.8%).

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