Between February and April of this year, students and faculty from 10 universities in the USA participated in a survey on the prevalence of sexual harassment and assault on their campuses. The “Higher Education Sexual Misconduct and Awareness (HESMA)” study was carried out at universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Georgetown. The results are set to be released later this year and will be used to guide academic policies and support services for victims of sexual misconduct.
The findings will be compared with previous surveys carried out at 33 universities and colleges in the USA in 2015 and 2019: the Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct, commissioned by the Association of American Universities and conducted by Westat, the same company responsible for the HESMA survey. In the 2019 survey, 13% of students reported having experienced nonconsensual sexual contact, either forced or through inability to consent. The rates were significantly higher among women and transgender and nonbinary students than among men. For some groups, such as female students, the rates of assault recorded in 2019 were up to 3% higher than in 2015.
“Sexual misconduct continues to be a serious issue on US college campuses,” said Stanford University provost Jenny Martinez, according to the institution’s official news website, the Stanford Report. “The HESMA survey is an important tool for us to measure the prevalence of sexual assault, harassment, and other forms of sexual violence at Stanford, to evaluate student awareness, as well as to understand the national climate around these issues.”
Universities are encouraged to take part in the survey by legislation requiring that periodic surveys be carried out to monitor the incidence of assault and harassment. “Beyond the core survey, we added questions to ensure that we meet key requirements mandated by Massachusetts law,” Peggy Newell, deputy provost of Harvard University, told The Harvard Gazette. Newell highlighted that the 2015 and 2019 surveys helped Harvard adjust its approach to tackling sexual misconduct — the institution began treating the problem as a public health issue, with a focus on making cultural changes and raising awareness. “Solely focusing on policies, procedures, and the law doesn’t change behavior or reduce harm.”
Republish