UT President Gregory Fenves released a System-wide report containing sexual assault statistics he said were a “wake up call”, in an email to UT students Friday.
According to the Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments survey, 28 percent of undergraduate women at UT Austin reported being victims of unwanted sexual touching and 12 percent experienced attempted rape.
Additionally, the report confirmed 15 percent of undergraduate women report being raped, “either through force, threat of force, incapacitation, or other forms of coercion such as lies or verbal pressure.” This statistic was released yesterday during the Texas Senate committee of State Affairs by Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston.
Thirteen percent of graduate and professional school women reported crude sexual harassment perpetrated by a staff or faculty member, with 30 percent experiencing sexist harassment and 5 percent unwanted sexual attention harassment.
“The results of this survey of our students are of tremendous concern to me, and I know these findings are deeply troubling to every member of our community,” Fenves said in the email. “This survey reveals a problem in our university, as well as society, that has existed in the shadows for too long.”
In his email, Fenves said data was collected from a sample size of 7,500 UT Austin students through voluntary and confidential online surveys.
The full 96-page CLASE report includes detailed information on the survey’s findings, demographics and prevalence of victimization for incidents such as stalking, dating violence and sexual harrasments. The report also includes current resources at the University to help victims of sexual assault, the next steps the University will take and a complete methodology.
UT Austin’s CLASE report is part of a larger report conducted by The University of Texas System that includes data spanning 13 UT institutions.
“No voice is too quiet to listen to,” Fenves wrote in his email to students. “No story of abuse is too minor to ignore. No truth is too uncomfortable to face. We support you."
Additional information will be available after University officials hold a media press conference at 1 p.m. to discuss the report. Follow The Daily Texan for more updates.
