STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — A survey of sexual misconduct at Penn State’s main campus found that more than three-quarters of undergraduate women have experienced offensive or harassing behavior from other students, university officials announced Wednesday.
The Penn State Sexual Misconduct Climate Survey was completed in fall 2015 by nearly 3,000 of the campus’ approximately 40,000 undergraduates, and more than 1,600 graduate students.
The survey says 28 percent of undergraduate women and 6 percent of men were the victim of at least one attempted or completed oral, vaginal or anal sexual assault, similar to the findings of 29 percent and 7 percent in a national study by the Association of American Universities.
About one out every five Penn State undergraduate women responding to the survey reported being sexually assaulted while they were too drunk or incapacitated to know what was happening.
Student affairs vice president Damon Sims said at a news conference in the HUB-Robeson Center student union that the results underscore the relationship between sexual misconduct and the use of alcohol and drugs, which he said was “a challenge that has been eternally vexing, it seems.”
The report said 30 percent of all undergrads reported that someone had tried to establish a romantic, sexual relationship despite the students’ attempts to discourage it. For women, the number was more than 40 percent. The unwanted advances included attempts to stroke, fondle or kiss the student.
The most common reason for not reporting incidents of stalking, violence or nonconsensual sexual contact was a feeling it would cause more trouble than it was worth. Significant numbers of students also cited embarrassment and a desire not to cause trouble for the perpetrator.
