CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — A 2019 survey of more than 2,000 students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign provided data on experiences of sexual misconduct and the university’s response to those incidents, building upon the information collected in similar surveys in 2015 and 2017.
“The University of Illinois is working to combat sexual misconduct on our campus, and this survey helps us better understand the experiences of our students as they pertain to sexual misconduct,” said Danita M. B. Young, the vice chancellor for student affairs. “The results of the survey will help inform our sexual misconduct policies, as well as prevention, education and awareness initiatives. The results also will allow us to see how sexual misconduct behavior and perceptions on our campus change over time.”
The Sexual Misconduct and Perceived Campus Response Survey was sent last spring to 12,500 graduate and undergraduate students, with 2,076 students – about 60% women – completing at least a portion of the questionnaire. Researchers cautioned that the low response rate means the results do not represent the experience of all students.
The term “sexual misconduct” refers to forms of violence including sexual assault, sexual harassment, cyberharassment, stalking and dating violence.
Findings from the 2019 survey include:
– Women, members of the LGBTQ community, Greek-affiliated students and students living with a disability are more likely to report incidents of sexual misconduct.
– Students who reported sexual misconduct also experienced greater distress and disengagement with their academic work.
– Most students do not tell others about sexual misconduct, but those who do are most likely to tell a friend.
– Students felt safer from sexual misconduct while on campus than off campus.
– Students reported confidence in Illinois’ perceived response to sexual misconduct.
The full report is available online.
Editor’s note: For additional information, contact Chantelle Thompson, director of marketing and communications for student affairs, cthomps@illinois.edu or 217-300-4221.
