The AAUW Educational Foundation released its newest research report, Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus, on Jan. 24, 2006. This report presents the most comprehensive findings to date on sexual harassment on college campuses. It is the first of a series of research reports that will focus on the issue of higher education as the gateway to women's economic security.

Main Findings

1. Sexual harassment is widespread on college campuses.

• Nearly two-thirds of college students (62 percent) say they have encountered some type of sexual harassment while at college. 
• Nearly one-third of students (35 percent of female students and 29 percent of male students) say they have experienced physical harassment, such as being touched, grabbed, or pinched in a sexual way.
• Sexual comments and jokes are the most common form of harassment. More than half of female students (57 percent) and nearly half of male students (48 percent) say they have experienced this type of harassment. 

2. Sexual harassment takes an especially heavy toll on female students. 

• More than two-thirds (68 percent) of female students who experience harassment feel very or somewhat upset by it. Conversely, only one-third (35 percent) of male students admit to being very or somewhat upset.
• More than half of female students who were harassed (57 percent) say they felt self-conscious or embarrassed, and a similar number (55 percent) said they felt angry. Among female students who encountered harassment, one-third (32 percent) say they felt afraid and one-fifth (18 percent) say that they were disappointed in their college experience as a result of sexual harassment.

3. Most students don't report sexual harassment to a college employee, and many tell no one.

• Only 7 percent of students say they reported sexual harassment to a faculty member or other college employee. Almost no one spoke with a college employee who they knew was a Title IX officer.
• More than half of students (57 percent) would like their college or university to offer a web-based, confidential method for submitting complaints about sexual harassment. Nearly half (47 percent) would like their college or university to designate an office or person to contact about sexual harassment.
• More than one-third of students (35 percent) tell no one. Almost half (49 percent) tell a friend.

Other Important Findings

1. Harassers are most likely male, and tend to think harassment is funny.

• Forty-one percent of all students admit that they have sexually harassed someone on campus.
• Male students are more likely than female students to have ever sexually harassed someone on campus (51 percent versus 31 percent). Private college students are more likely than their public college peers to have ever sexually harassed someone on campus (47 percent versus. 38 percent).
• The most common rationale for harassment (59 percent) is "I thought it was funny." Less than one-fifth (17 percent) of those who admit to harassing others say they did so because they wanted a date with the person.

2. Sexual harassment occurs at all types of institutions and all over campus.

• Among students who have been harassed, more than a third are harassed in the dorms or student housing (39 percent) or outside on campus grounds (37 percent). One-fifth are harassed in classrooms or lecture halls.
• Students from private colleges are more likely than college students from public colleges to say they have been sexually harassed (68 percent versus 59 percent). Despite this, private college students are more likely to say that sexual harassment is not occurring on their campus (15 percent versus 10 percent).
• Students at large schools (population of 10,000 or more) are more likely than students at small schools (population of 5,000 or fewer) to say they have experienced sexual harassment (67 percent versus 58 percent).

3. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students are more likely than heterosexual students to be sexually harassed.

• Nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of LGBT students report harassment versus 61 percent of heterosexual students.
• LGBT students are more likely than heterosexual students to be harassed often —18 percent versus 7 percent.
• LGBT students are more likely than heterosexual students to be angry (67 percent versus 42 percent), embarrassed (61 percent versus 45 percent), less confident (42 percent versus 25 percent), and afraid (32 percent versus 20 percent) as a result of sexual harassment.

Methodology

Harris Interactive® conducted the Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus study online on behalf of the AAUW Educational Foundation between May 5 and 25, 2005, among 2,036 U.S. undergraduate college students ages 18 to 24. The sample included students enrolled in public and private postsecondary schools, including institutions offering two-year as well as four-year degrees. Figures for age, sex, race, education, region, and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. A post-weight was also applied to adjust qualified respondents to more accurately reflect the proportions of male and female students between the ages of 18 and 21 and 22 and 24 years old.

In theory, with probability samples of this size, one could say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results have a sampling error of +/-2 percentage points. Sampling error for the subsamples of males (940), females (1096), males who have been sexually harassed (566), and females who have been sexually harassed (659) is higher and varies. This online sample is not a probability sample.

Frequently Asked Questions

What plans does AAUW have to help campuses address these issues? 
In response to these research findings, AAUW has launched a new initiative, Building a Harassment-Free Campus, and is currently funding 11 campus-based projects around the country that will examine and address sexual harassment on campus. In addition, a Summit on Sexual Harassment is planned for June 7-10, 2006, as part of the AAUW National Conference for College Women Student Leaders. (See http://www.aauw.org/campus_connection/cap.cfm and http://www.aauw.org/nccwsl/2006/index.cfm for more details.)

How does sexual harassment on campus affect young women's careers and lifelong economic security?
A college education is increasingly becoming a prerequisite for many career paths and for lifelong economic security. Sexual harassment on campus disrupts the college experience in large and small ways. Young adults on campus are shaping behaviors and attitudes that they will take with them into the workforce and broader society. A campus environment that encourages — even tolerates — inappropriate verbal and physical contact and that discourages reporting these behaviors undermines the emotional, intellectual and professional growth of millions of young adults. AAUW's research shows that sexual harassment on campus takes an especially heavy toll on young women, making it harder for them to get the education they need to take care of themselves and their families in today's economy.

What other work has AAUW done on sexual harassment?
AAUW has been at the forefront of sexual harassment research for more than a decade. In 1993, AAUW released Hostile Hallways: The AAUW Survey on Sexual Harassment in America's Schools, which revealed that four out of five students in grades eight to 11 had experienced some form of sexual harassment. In 2001, the AAUW Educational Foundation released the follow-up report, Hostile Hallways:  Bullying Teasing and Sexual Harassment in School, which found that nearly a decade later, sexual harassment remained a major problem and a significant barrier to student achievement in public schools. In response, AAUW developed a resource guide, Harassment-Free Hallways (2002), which provides guidelines and recommendations to help schools, students, and parents prevent and combat sexual harassment. All of these publications, including Drawing the Line, are available at www.aauw.org/research.