The number of reported sexual assaults at the University of Wyoming continues to increase, according to the UW Police Department’s annual security report.
Reports of sexual assault on university property have increased by a third since 2015. In 2017, UWPD received 21 reports of sexual assault, up from 19 in 2016 and 14 in 2015.
These statistics likely underrepresent the extent of rape and sexual assault at the university since the majority of incidents go unreported. A campus-wide sexual misconduct survey conducted during the spring semester this year found 86.9 percent of respondents who experienced sexual assault did not report it to UW faculty or staff.
Of the 1,913 respondents to the survey, 27.1 percent indicated they experienced at least one sexual assault at UW.
“These numbers are, unfortunately, quite typical for universities across the country,” Vice President for Student Affairs Sean Blackburn said in a release. “Still, they point to the fact that we need to do more to encourage reporting and, more importantly, reduce sexual misconduct and improve the experience of all UW students.”
Rape and sexual assault are leading security issues at universities nationwide. According to a national study conducted by Association of American Universities in 2015, 11 percent of all college students report experiencing rape or sexual assault. Of undergraduate students, 23 percent of females and 5 percent of males experience rape or sexual assault. Rates of reporting varied from 5 to 28 percent.
UW has taken action in recent years in an attempt to improve access to reporting and other resources. In 2017, President Nichols instituted a Sexual Misconduct Task Force with representatives from UWPD, ASUW, SAFE Project and the STOP Violence program. The task force presented the Board of Trustees with a five-year plan to improve campus safety at the board’s Sept. 13 meeting.
“While UW is a safe campus, and we have many prevention and response services in place, I believe that we can and must do more,” Nichols wrote in a university-wide message about the new task force.
The task force has worked to address barriers to reporting, improve bystander intervention training and increase knowledge of and access to community resources. It has implemented changes like mandating students complete the Alcohol Edu and Haven online course, mandating sexual misconduct and duty to report training for university employees and launching the website ReportIT (UWyo.edu/reportit), with resources for students and staff.
UW has other initiatives like the “No More” campaign, Rave Guardian safety app, a “safe corridor” of lighting across campus and the AWARE bystander intervention program.
UWPD has seen an increase in citations other than sexual assault, with citations for stalking up from eight to 14 in the span of a year, and domestic violence up to seven from one. Alcohol and drug citations increased from 2015 to 2017, with all alcohol-related offenses jumping from 138 to 235 and drug offenses increasing from 35 to 49. UWPD Chief Mike Samp said these figures are not historic highs, and they reflect changes in law enforcement staffing and special events hosted on campus.
For information about reporting a sexual assault, see UWyo.edu/reportit. The decision to report is the victim’s; STOP Violence and the University Counseling Center offer confidential reporting, while information of a sexual assault disclosed to other university employees or faculty must be reported to the Title IX office.
