The University of Texas has announced plans to conduct a new study of campus sexual assault—the biggest and most comprehensive one ever. Under Chancellor William McRaven, who was appointed last year, the university will invest $1.7 million into the project, called Cultivating Learning and Safe Environments (CLASE). McRaven is a retired United States Navy Admiral, and recognizes the problem of sexual assault both on college campuses and in the United States military. The university’s study is partially inspired by recent efforts by the military to study the prevalence of sexual assault and the effect it has on servicemen and women.
The study is unique in that it will explore not only how often sexual assault occurs (past studies have found that about 1 in 5 college women have experienced some form of sexual assault), but also the process of reporting assaults and how these reports are handled. According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), 68 percent of sexual assaults go unreported to police altogether. McRaven told the Huffington Post that he hopes the study will be able to address the reasons students are reluctant to report incidents in an effort to encourage students to come forward. "We will provide a better campus infrastructure to handle sexual assault complaints if we determine what is currently working and what is not," he added.
The University of Texas has a large, diverse student population and spans across several campuses, which researchers say are ideal conditions for conducting such a comprehensive study. After researchers collect survey data from a randomly selected sample of students about the prevalence of assault, they will conduct focus group sessions to gain a deeper understanding of the results. They will look at the psychological and economic effects of an assault. Such a trauma can result in victims missing school, work, or delaying graduation. According to another study by UT earlier this year, a single sexual assault case can incur costs of up to almost $450,000.
After the surveys are analyzed and focus groups conducted this fall, studies of both victims and nonvictims will continue over the next four years to gain an understanding of how their knowledge of and attitude toward sexual assault has changed over time. Though universities usually conduct these studies with an end goal of creating or changing policies, the greatest challenge surrounding the issue is still social stigma--while a university may employ stricter policies for what constitutes assault and provide better resources for victims, college students may still avoid reporting incidents for fear of being blamed or not being believed, especially if the assailant is someone they know. It will be interesting to see how UT translates its findings into actual, effective changes.
