The results of a survey, which asked University students about their experiences with sexual misconduct round campus, was released Monday morning via Massmail.

During the spring 2019 semester, a total of 12,500 graduate and undergraduate students were invited to participate in the survey in which 2,076 students completed at least a portion of it.

“I am committed to continuing this effort to understand the student experience around sexual misconduct and doing whatever I can to improve the climate on campus,” wrote Danita Young, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, in the Massmail. “We will hold focus groups to explore more ways to improve our response to survivors.”

This marks the third time this survey has been conducted, the first two being in 2015 and 2017.

The 2019 Campus Climate Report is broken up into two sections. Part one dealt with the experiences of sexual misconduct, while part two focused on the “perceptions of institutional support outcomes.”

The report uses the term “sexual misconduct” to identify several forms of interpersonal violence, which may include sexual assault or harassment, cyberharassment, stalking and dating violence.

According to the report, white students made up 45.3% of the survey takers. Women made up 60.7%. About 84.1% of students who took the survey identified as straight, and 2.1% of students identified as transgender. Around 15.1% of responses were from international students, and 20.8% of students said they were living with disabilities.

The Campus Climate Report fact sheet broke down some of the statistics taken from the survey.

One in five women and one in 24 men said they experienced completed oral, anal or vaginal sexual assault since starting at the University.

In 2017, one in five women and one in 25 men reported experiencing nonconsensual penetration through physical force. In 2015, the same statistic was one in seven women and one in 42 men.

The 2019 survey also showed that women, members of the LGBTQ community, Greek-affiliated students and students living with a disability are more likely to report an incident of sexual misconduct.

However, compared to previous years, students generally showed more confidence that the University would take a report seriously.

In 2015, 72% of students believed the University would take their reports seriously, while in 2017, 87.5% of students believed this. In 2019, 87.2% of students believed this.

“As the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, I am committed to garnering the resources of all departments to eliminate the problem of sexual misconduct on campus,” Young wrote toward the end of her Massmail. “The Chancellor, Provost and all executives of the University share my dedication to this important mission.”

All reports from previous years can be found at wecare.illinois.edu/reports/.

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