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JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — One out of every nine students at the University of Alaska reported being a victim of sexual misconduct or assault last year, according to a new study released by the Alaska Justice Center.
The center at the University of Alaska Anchorage released its study Monday that says 11.4 percent of students experienced sexual misconduct, sexual assault or both in 2015. It also shows that University of Alaska Southeast students were more likely to be victims of sexual misconduct or assault, with one out of every eight students, or 12 percent of the student population, reporting such abuse.
The federal government requires universities and colleges to release their crime statistics, including sex offenses reported to administration. The new study is the first time the University of Alaska system has publicly released such sexual assault data publicly.
"These numbers help us go from anecdote to actual data," said Lindsey Blumenstein Ph.D., an assistant professor at the UAA Justice Center who led the study. "We just had never looked at a victimization survey of our students."
The study's estimates are based on nearly 2,000 responses to an online student survey conducted between February and March of this year. Students enrolled at UA during the 2016 spring semester provided information regarding their experiences of sexual misconduct and sexual assault — both on and off campus — last year. The questions were modeled after recommendations by the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault.
Blumenstein said the study's results are likely a conservative estimate, because many instances of sexual assault go unreported.
"Even though the survey was done online, there's still a lot of shame, a lot of stigma, a lot of victim blaming that goes on with victims of sexual violence and it's very difficult for people to come forward about their experiences," she said.
In recent years, UAA, University of Alaska Fairbanks and UAS have followed national mandates to improve sexual assault prevention efforts and remain in compliance with federal guidelines that prohibit sex discrimination in education.
Blumenstein said there is still work to be done to make more progress on the issue of sexual assault on university and college campuses.
In the survey, sexual misconduct refers to unwanted, uninvited or coerced sexual touching or sexual commentary. Examples include kissing without permission, grabbing, fondling, taking a sexual experience further than wanted, or lewd comments that make a person feel uncomfortable, uneasy or unsafe. Sexual assault refers to nonconsensual or unwanted sexual contact with penetration.
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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, http://www.juneauempire.com
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