Impact

Oklahoma State University believes that one victim is too many. Regardless of statistics reported in research, OSU will continue to work towards preventing all sexual and domestic violence on our campus through education and awareness. Further, OSU will create a supportive and accepting environment for victims and survivors so that all members of the Oklahoma State community are able to live and learn successfully.

Though one victim is too many, it is important to understand the scope of the issue at hand. Read below to learn more about what research tells us about the issue of sexual violence on college campuses.

View our 2019-2020 annual report.

View our 2018-2019 annual report.

Campus Data

The following are reported cases of allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, dating violence/domestic violence, and stalking involving student respondents.

"Title IX Process" accounts for all instances where Student Conduct was made aware of an incident.

"Conduct Action" accounts for when complainants choose to go through the Student Conduct process.

Academic Year	FA 2016	SP/SU 2017	FA 2017	SP/SU 2018	FA 2018	SP/SU 2019	FA 2019	SP/SU 2020
Sexual Harassment
Title IX Process	13	22	21	29	20	16	15	16
Conduct Action
Responsible	0	0	0	2	3	0	0	0
Not Responsible	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
Sexual Misconduct: Unwelcome Sexual Touching/Exposure
Title IX Process	14	8	13	8	10	5	5	8
Conduct Action
Responsible	1	2	5	1	1	0	0	1
Not Responsible	0	2	1	0	0	0	0	0
Sexual Misconduct: Sexual Assault
Title IX Process	15	15	14	16	23	26	29	14
Conduct Process
Responsible	2	2	0	2	0	0	2	0
Not Responsible	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dating Violence/Domestic Violence*
Title IX Process	14	17	9	18	11	18	15	12
Conduct Process
Responsible	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Not Responsible	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Stalking
Title IX Process	1	6	8	5	4	6	6	1
Conduct Process
Responsible	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Not Responsible	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0

*Roommate disputes are not included in domestic violence unless they're an intimate relationship

Please note: the above data does not include confidential reporting.

From year to year the reported number of incidents of sexual violence ebb and flow due to a number of factors. As 1 is 2 Many increases trainings and prevention efforts across campus, students are able to better identify sexual violence, become familiar with on campus resources, and understand reporting options. As employees are continuously trained on their responsibilities to report and effective ways to share resources, students may feel more safe and comfortable reporting to staff whom are required to report. Additionally, there are times when the popular media highlights incidents of sexual violence and the response to these incidents, thus, creating an environment of acceptance from society to report and share experiences. These factors often lead to a higher number of reports.

National Data

Who experiences sexual violence?

1 in 5 female students and 1 in 20 male students experience sexual assault in college (1).
7% of all students experience sexual violence assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (5).
College women ages 18-24 are at a 3X more elevated risk of sexual assault (11).
More than half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance (3).
Almost half (49.5%) of multiracial women and over 45% of American Indian/Alaska Native women were subjected to some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime (3).
4% of male victims report being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger (3).
24% of trans students report having experienced sexual contact involving physical force or incapacitation throughout college (5).
4% lesbians, 74.9% bisexual women and 43.3% heterosexual women reported sexual violence other than rape during their lifetimes, while 40.2% gay men, 47.4% bisexual men and 20.8% heterosexual men reported sexual violence other than rape during their lifetimes (12).
Nearly two thirds of college students experience sexual harassment (7).

Sexual violence on a college campus

9 out of 10 perpetrators are known to the victim. Victims could know the person who harmed them from class, an ex or current partner, someone they met at a party, a family member, or many other ways, and almost 12.8% of completed rapes, 35% of attempted rapes, and 22.9% of threatened rapes happened during a date (6).
Over 50% of students do not recognize what happened to them as rapeor aren't sure what happened to them (6).
More than 50% of college sexual assaults occur in either August, September, October, or November (8).
Approximately one-half of all sexual assault victims report that they were drinking alcohol at the time of the assault, with estimates ranging from 30 to 79 percent.
- Although alcohol consumption may place a person at an increased risk of sexual assault, they are in no way responsible for the assault. The perpetrators are legally and morally responsible for their behavior (2).

Impacts of sexual violence

More than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault (6).
There are several reasons a student may not report, including, but not limited to:
- Fear retaliation
- Believe the police will not do anything to help
- Believe it is a personal matter
- Believe it is not important enough to report
- Do not want the perpetrator to get in trouble (4).
70% of sexual violence victims experience moderate to severe distress (10).
Students who experience sexual violence are more likely to suffer academically, experience depression or post-traumatic-stress disorder, or to abuse alcohol or other drugs (9).
Significantly more women and men with a history of sexual violence or stalking by any perpetrator, or physical violence by an intimate partner, reported asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty sleeping, and limitations in their activities (3).

With all of this information, it is imperative that everyone decide to do something to change these numbers. It will take each person on the OSU campus to make the decision to become informed and be an active bystander.