3% of female students in US face sexual victimization within first 6 weeks of college

A new report suggests that 3% of female students in the US face sexual victimization within their first 4–6 weeks of college. The figure comes from a survey of students at 400 US institutions. The report defines "sexual victimization" as students being "pressured or forced into sexual contact without their consent." The report also found that most respondents had "overwhelmingly healthy and positive responses" to survey questions; however, they do not often recognize that they are part of a majority who would be in a position to act on their beliefs and values. Survey results showed that most students felt they were more likely to be an active bystander than their peers were, an inaccurate perception that the report authors say "can present substantial barriers to bystander action and intervention." The survey was conducted by EverFi, an education company that offers sexual assault prevention training. Researcher Meranda McLaughlin recently advocated on Rethinking Higher Ed for better research around sexual victimization at Canadian institutions. Inside Higher Ed