Rape on College Campus

National Institute for Mental Health and Ms. Magazine Study of College Sexual Assault

The National Institute for Mental Health and Ms. Magazine teamed up for the first comprehensive student of sexual assault and date rape on college campuses.  A three-year study involving 6100 female students at 32 colleges and universities produced the following statistics. These numbers show that sexual assault is more common than is widely believed, and that the vast majority occur between people who know each other.

Incidence facts

  • One in four college women surveyed are victims of rape or attempted rape
  • One in seven college men surveyed are victims of sexual assault
  • 85% of rapes on campus are acquaintance rapes
  • One in six female college students reported having been a victim of rape or attempted rape during the preceding year
  • 27% of women have experienced a rape or attempted rape since age 14
  • The majority of reported victims and offenders are college age, with the rape victimization highest among 16-19 year olds

Women's responses to assault facts

  • Only 27% of the women whose sexual assault met the legal definition of rape thought of themselves as rape victims
  • 42% of college women who are raped tell no one about their assault
  • 42% of the women who were raped said they had sex again with the men who assaulted them
  • 42% of raped women said they expect to be raped again

Men's responses to rape facts

  • 84% of college men who committed rape said that what they did was definitely not rape
  • 55% of the men who raped said they had sex again with their victims
  • One in fifteen male students reported committing a rape or attempting to commit rape during the preceding year
  • Nearly one third of college men said they were likely to have sex with an unwilling partner if they thought they could get away with it

Reporting facts

  • 5% of college women who are raped report the rape to the police
  • 5% of college women who are raped seek help at a rape crisis center

Statistics from Robin Warshaw, I Never Called It Rape, Harper & Row, 1988.