The following are reported cases of allegations of sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, dating violence/domestic violence, and stalking involving student respondents. Policy definitions and tracking of allegations changed as of Fall 2020.

Title IX accounts for all instances where reported information would fall under the interim Title IX Policy.

Non-Title IX cases account for the reports that do not fall under the interim Title IX policy but the misconduct would be covered by the Student Code of Conduct. Both Title IX and Non-Title IX only result in an adjudication process (Conduct Action) if a complaint is filed and the complainant/s chooses to go through the conduct process.  

*Roommate disputes are not included in domestic violence unless they're an intimate relationship

Note: From year to year the reported number of incidents of sexual violence ebb and flow due to a number of factors.  As 1 is 2 Many increases trainings and prevention efforts across campus, students are able to better identify sexual violence, become familiar with on campus resources, and understand reporting options.  As employees are continuously trained on their responsibilities to report and effective ways to share resources, students may feel more safe and comfortable reporting to staff whom are required to report.  Additionally, there are times when the popular media highlights incidents of sexual violence and the response to these incidents, thus, creating an environment of acceptance from society to report and share experiences.  These factors often lead to a higher number of reports.

• 1 in 5 female students and 1 in 20 male students experience sexual assault in college (1).
• 7% of all students experience sexual violence assault through physical force, violence, or incapacitation (5).
• College women ages 18-24 are at a 3X more elevated risk of sexual assault (11).
• More than half (51.1%) of female victims of rape reported being raped by an intimate partner and 40.8% by an acquaintance (3).
• Almost half (49.5%) of multiracial women and over 45% of American Indian/Alaska Native women were subjected to some form of contact sexual violence in their lifetime (3).
• 4% of male victims report being raped by an acquaintance and 15.1% by a stranger (3).
• 24% of trans students report having experienced sexual contact involving physical force or incapacitation throughout college (5).
• 4% lesbians, 74.9% bisexual women and 43.3% heterosexual women reported sexual violence other than rape during their lifetimes, while 40.2% gay men, 47.4% bisexual men and 20.8% heterosexual men reported sexual violence other than rape during their lifetimes (12).
• Nearly two thirds of college students experience sexual harassment (7).

Sexual violence on a college campus

• 9 out of 10 perpetrators are known to the victim. Victims could know the person who harmed them from class, an ex or current partner, someone they met at a party, a family member, or many other ways, and almost 12.8% of completed rapes, 35% of attempted rapes, and 22.9% of threatened rapes happened during a date (6).
• Over 50% of students do not recognize what happened to them as rape or aren't sure what happened to them (6).
• More than 50% of college sexual assaults occur in either August, September, October, or November (8).
• Approximately one-half of all sexual assault victims report that they were drinking alcohol at the time of the assault, with estimates ranging from 30 to 79 percent.
  • Although alcohol consumption may place a person at an increased risk of sexual assault, they are in no way responsible for the assault. The perpetrators are legally and morally responsible for their behavior (2).

Impacts of sexual violence

• More than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report the assault (6).
• There are several reasons a student may not report, including, but not limited to:
  • Fear retaliation
  • Believe the police will not do anything to help
  • Believe it is a personal matter
  • Believe it is not important enough to report
  • Do not want the perpetrator to get in trouble (4).
• 70% of sexual violence victims experience moderate to severe distress (10).
• Students who experience sexual violence are more likely to suffer academically, experience depression or post-traumatic-stress disorder, or to abuse alcohol or other drugs (9).
• Significantly more women and men with a history of sexual violence or stalking by any perpetrator, or physical violence by an intimate partner, reported asthma, irritable bowel syndrome, frequent headaches, chronic pain, difficulty sleeping, and limitations in their activities (3).

With all of this information, it is imperative that everyone decide to do something to change these numbers. It will take each person on the OSU campus to make the decision to become informed and be an active bystander.

1. Anderson, N., & S. C. (2015). College Sexual Assault: 1 in 5 College Women Say They Were Violated. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/local/2015/06/12/1-in-5-women-say-they-were-violated/?utm_term=.ddf043bfe653.
2. Abbey, A Ph.D., Zawacki, T., M.A., Buck, P.O., M.A., Clinton, M., M.A., & McAusalan, P., Ph.D. (2001). Alcohol and Sexual Assault.  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.  Retrieved from https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/arh25-1/43-51.htm.
3. Black, M. C., Basile, K. C., Breiding, M. J., Smith, S. G., Walters, M. L., Chen, J., & Stevens, M. R. (2011). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2010 Summary Report(Rep.). Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
4. Campus Sexual Violence: Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/campus-sexual-violence
5. Cantor, D., Fisher, B., Chibnall, S., Bruce, C., Townsend, R., Thomas, G., & Lee, H. (2015). Report on the AAU Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct(Rep.). Philadelphia, PA: Westat.
6. Fisher, B. S., Cullen, F. T., & Turner, M. G. (2000). The Sexual Victimization of College Women(Rep.).
7. Hill, C., & Silva, E. (2005). Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus. Retrieved from https://www.aauw.org/files/2013/02/drawing-the-line-sexual-harassment-on-campus.pdf.
8. Kimble, M., Neacsiu, A. D., Flack, W. F., & Horner, J. (2008). Risk of Unwanted Sex for College Women: Evidence for a Red Zone. Journal of American College Health,57(3), 331-338. doi:10.3200/jach.57.3.331-338
9. Krug, E. G., Dahlberg, L. L., Mercy, J. A., Zwi, A. B., & Lozano, R. (2002). World Report on Violence and Health(Rep.). Geneva: World Health Organization.
10. Langton, L., Ph.D., & Truman, J., Ph.D. (2014). Socio-emotional Impact of Violent Crime. S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/sivc.pdf.
11. Sinozich, S., & Langton, L. (2014). Rape and Sexual Assault Victimization Among College-Age Females, 1995-2013(Rep.).
12. Walters, M. L., Chen, J., & Breiding, M. J. (2013). The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation(Rep.). Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the centers for Disease Control and Prevention.