Sexual Assault Statistics

A 2004 study conducted at 119 colleges found that one in 20 college women reported being raped during the school year and almost 75 percent of survivors said they were intoxicated when the assault occurred. The study was conducted by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health Alcohol Study, Saint Joseph's University, and the University of Arizona.

A December 2000 U.S. Department of Justice study on the sexual victimization of college women reports that 2.8 percent of those surveyed were the victims of rape or attempted rape per academic year and about 90 percent knew their attackers. On a campus of 10,000 women, that's 280 rapes or attempted rapes each academic year. However, the study further found that less than 5 percent of sexual assaults are reported to police.

The 1998 National Violence Against Women Survey (National Institute of Justice Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) says one in six women has experienced rape or attempted rape as a child or adult. The Koss study (1988, also known as the Ms. Magazine Project on Campus Sexual Assault) estimates up to one in four college women had experienced rape or attempted rape (however, 38 percent of the group reporting rapes indicated the sexual assaults had occurred between the ages of 14-17).

The Journal of the American Medical Association in August 2001 published a study indicating that almost one in five of 9th-12th grade girls reported experiencing physical and/or sexual violence from dating partners. The finding was based on surveys conducted in Massachusetts in 1997 and 1999 (20.2 percent in 1997 and 18 percent in 1999).

National statistics vary, but officials agree that most college women know their attackers and that most attacks go unreported. While most survivors are women, men also can be sexually assaulted. It is estimated that one in 10 men will be sexually assaulted in his lifetime.

Miami provides complete information on crime statistics for all campuses as well as the City of Oxford. When reviewing statistics, remember that many more sexual assaults occur here and elsewhere than are reported.