1 in 6 Females Sexually Assaulted at MIT

In one of the first of its kind, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has released the results of a student survey of female undergraduates who have been sexually assaulted, raped, or knows a perpetrator of unwanted sexual behavior. Out of a response rate of 35%, one in six female students claim to have been a victim of sexual assault, five percent had been raped, and one in five knew someone who had committed an act. Yet, less than five percent had ever reported anything to authorities. “Sexual assault violates our core MIT values. It has no place here,” MIT President Rafael Reif wrote in a campus-wide e-mail with the results. Sex crimes on college campuses have been deemed an “epidemic” by the White House and pressure is growing for educational institutions to take the issue more seriously. “We are interested in learning about the problem, measuring it and solving it,” the schools Chancellor Cynthia Barnhart added.