Study Focuses on Campus Rape

Jan. 26 -- About 3 percent of college women say they have been victims of rape or attempted rape during a typical school year, according to a government report released today.

The study, "The Sexual Victimization of College Women," looks at the frequency and nature of sexual assault on American college campuses, and is based on interviews with college women.

About 1.7 percent of female college students reported being raped, and about 1.1 percent said they were victims of attempted rape, according to the report from the U.S. Justice Department's National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Statistics. About 1.7 percent of the college women reported being coerced to have sex.

An estimated 13 percent of college women had been stalked since the beginning of the school year, according to the study. The high incidence of stalking surprised the researchers, said lead author Bonnie S. Fisher of the University of Cincinnati.

In general, she said, the study shows how official statistics probably underestimate campus rape. To put the statistics into context, she said, consider that the researchers only asked women about their experiences during one academic year. "These numbers would be much higher if we asked about since they were enrolled," Fisher said.

Most Rapes Occur in Residences

The vast majority of of the women were attacked after 6 p.m. in living quarters, according to the report. Of the rapes on campus, almost 60 percent were committed in the victim's residence, 31 percent occurred in other living quarters and 10 percent were perpetrated at a fraternity. Most off-campus incidents also occurred in residences, but many others were in bars, dance clubs, nightclubs and workplace settings.

Most of the sexually assaulted women knew the person who victimized them, according to the report. For both rapes and attempted rapes, nearly 90 percent of the victims knew the offender, who was usually a classmate, friend, ex-boyfriend or acquaintance.

Most rape and attempted rape victims reported they did not suffer additional injuries during the victimization. Of those who did — about one in five — the incidents resulted inadditional injury, most often "bruises, black eyes, cuts, swelling or chipped teeth."