Up for discussion: Sexual assault statistics

As parents, you are concerned about your student’s safety. So the sexual assault statistics reported for UC Davis may give some pause.

But while the numbers for UC Davis — 72 reports in 2007 — are higher than at any of the university system’s nine other campuses, they don’t tell the whole story, said Annette Spicuzza, chief of the UC Davis Police Department.

“We attribute the number of sexual assaults reported at UC Davis under the Clery Act to our effective Campus Violence Prevention Program (CVPP),” Spicuzza said. “The strict confidentiality allows people to come forward to report incidents and seek help whether the assault occurred on campus or not.”

Reporting requirements

The Jeanne Clery Campus Security Policy & Crime Statistics Disclosure Act, named for a student who was raped and murdered in her room at Lehigh University in 1986, requires universities to notify current and prospective students and employees about security policies and violent crimes.

For UC Davis, the number of total reported forcible and nonforcible sex offenses increased from 50 in 2005 to 68 in 2006 and to 72 last year. The 2007 reports include 41 on the Davis campus, three on adjacent public property, 10 at the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento and 18 at non-campus but affiliated properties. (Statistics for 2008 will be published in October.)

The Clery statistics include reports made to UC Davis police, local law enforcement agencies and others. At UC Davis, more than 900 faculty and staff — from coaches to advisors — are designated campus security authorities with reporting responsibilities under the act.

Leadership

Historically, sexual assaults have been underreported because of the stigma attached to those who have suffered. Women may not know where to turn and may not know how, or want to deal with the situation, Spicuzza said.

The services offered by CVPP include 24-hour advocacy, crisis intervention, support groups and educational programming. A peer educator program also uses drama to facilitate audience discussion to address the topic of acquaintance rape.

Educational outreach through CVPP has been critical in getting the “silent” victims of sexual assault to come forward. In fact, about three-quarters of the reported sex offenses in 2007 were reported confidentially to the program.

The CVPP is recognized as a national leader in efforts to reduce risk for sexual assaults, encourage reporting and provide services for survivors. In 2007, UC Davis was awarded a $1 million federal grant to help UC's 10 campuses improve their response to violence against women. The three-year project aims to put into place a model program to reduce the incidence of campus-based violence against women, including domestic and dating violence, sexual assault and stalking. The program is also focusing on improving the quality of response when such incidents do occur.

“The numbers can be high or low, but we’re not happy with even one individual who has suffered in our community,” said Spicuzza, a mother of two college students who can empathize with parents who may have concerns about the statistics. “We want to ensure victims that they have a safe haven to come to, but we’re always working to eradicate incidents of sexual assaults.”

Publication of Clery report

UC Davis e-mails students and employees annually about the Clery information, and the campus publishes notices in major campus publications such as the General Catalog and Class Schedule and Registration Guide. View the UC Campus Security Report for 2008 and full statistics.