Essentially, Title IX prohibits sex discrimination in educational institutions that receive federal funding (the vast majority of schools.) While Title IX is a very short statute, Supreme Court decisions and guidance from the U.S. Department of Education have given it a broad scope covering sexual harassment, sexual violence, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Under Title IX, schools are legally required to respond to and remedy hostile educational environments. Failure to do so is a violation that means a school could risk losing its federal funding. For more information about what constitutes gender-based violence and harassment, check out this helpful fact sheet from the ACLU.

While Title IX policy remained unchanged for many years, the last two decades have seen much more activity and new implications for students. (For more information, see our Timeline page.) A new Title IX rule was released in April 2024 and went into effect on August 1, 2024. The 2024 rule, sometimes referred to as the Biden or Cardona rule, expands protections for students and holds educational institutions to a higher standard of accountability. However, due to ongoing legal challenges, some states or even individual schools may still be subject to the 2020 rule (sometimes referred to as the Trump or DeVos rule.) For more information, see our What Applies To Me page.

Why do schools handle sexual violence reports? Federal antidiscrimination law recognizes that gender-based violence manifests and perpetuates inequality. To make sure that all students have equal access to education, schools are required to prevent and respond to reports of sexual violence. This isn’t a replacement for reporting to the police; it’s a parallel option for survivors based in civil rights law, rather than criminal law. Some survivors may prefer to go through the Title IX complaint process, rather than the criminal justice process. There are many reasons for this, including: centering survivor needs; fear or skepticism of the criminal justice system; faster action to protect students. Colleges and universities are required to investigate a report regardless of whether a police investigation is underway, so concurrent investigations may occur.

Statistics

These statistics are provided to assist survivors, advocates, and researchers in accessing recent data around gender-based violence. Links are provided to the cited studies themselves, where they are publicly available, or to resources that provide citations for the relevant statistics.

Please note that comparing between studies may be unwise, as many do not use the same methodology in measuring violence. Much of this field is still understudied, especially when it comes to violence perpetrated against members of historically marginalized groups. Despite this, we hope this resource offers a useful overview of what we know about gender-based violence and some numbers to communicate powerfully about the need to address sexual violence in schools across the United States.

If there are additional statistics you’d like to see included below, please let us know at knowyourix@advocatesforyouth.org.

Higher Education Prevalence

• 41.8% of college students surveyed reported experiencing at least one sexually harassing behavior since enrollment. (Association of American Universities, 2020)
• 18.9% of students reported sexually harassing behavior that either “interfered with their academic or professional performance,” “limited their ability to participate in an academic program,” or “created an intimidating, hostile or offensive social, academic or work environment.” (Association of American Universities, 2020)
• 13.0% of college students experiencing nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent since enrolling at school. (Association of American Universities, 2020)
  • 25.9% of undergraduate women experienced nonconsensual sexual contact, compared to 9.7% of graduate/professional student women.
  • 6.8% of undergraduate men experienced nonconsensual sexual contact, compared to 2.5% of graduate/professional student men.
  • 22.8% of transgender, nonbinary/genderqueer, gender questioning, or gender not listed (TGQN) undergraduates experienced nonconsensual sexual contact, compared to 22.8% of TGQN graduate/professional students.
  • Hispanic students have slightly higher rates of nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent than non-Hispanic students (14.9% compared to 12.8%).
  • With respect to race, Asian students have the lowest rates (6.9%) compared to white students (14.7%), African American students (12.7%), and students reporting more than one race (14.5%). 
• The prevalence rate of intimate partner violence was 10.1% among all students who had been in a partnered relationship since entering college. (Association of American Universities, 2020)
• Among all students, 5.8% reported experiencing stalking. (Association of American Universities, 2020)
• About 50% of campus sexual assaults occur during the beginning period of a new school year (mid-August to November); this time period is referred to as the Red Zone. (American Psychological Association, 2023)
• Between 2015 and 2021, the total number of sexual offenses reported at higher education institutions increased by 23%. (U.S. Department of Education, 2021)
• In 2021, nearly 13,000 students were victims of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking incidents. (U.S. Department of Education, 2021)

K-12 Prevalence

• During the 2020-2021 school year, there were 2,700 incidents of sexual assault and 350 incidents of rape or attempted rape reported to school districts. (U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, 2023)
• In a cross-sectional study of youth aged 14 to 16 years, gender minority youth were more likely to report experiencing sexual violence but not more likely to report perpetrating sexual violence. (National Library of Medicine, 2022)
• Trans or non-binary students in grades K-12 reported significant rates of harassment (78%), physical assault (35%), and sexual violence (12%). (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2019)
• In 2021, 11% of high school students were forced by anyone to do sexual things (including kissing, touching, or being physically forced to have sexual intercourse) when they did not want to during the past year. (CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2023)
  • Experiences of sexual violence by sex: 18% of female high school students; 5% of male high school students.
  • Experiences of sexual violence by race & ethnicity: 16% of American Indian of Alaska Native high school students; 15% of multiracial high school students; 12% of white high school students; 11% of Hispanic high school students; 7% of Black high school students; 6% of Asian high school students; 5% of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander high school students.
  • Experiences of sexual violence by sexual identity: 8% of heterosexual high school students; 22% of LGBQ+ high school students.
  • Experiences of sexual violence by sex of sexual contacts: 17% of high school students who had only opposite sex partners; 39% of high school students who had any same sex partners.

Reporting

• In 2021, so-called “forcible sex offenses” made up the highest proportion of reported on-campus crimes at 44%. The next highest was burglaries, at 28% of reported on-campus crimes. (National Center for Education Statistics, 2024)
• Still, overall rates of reporting are quite low. (Association of American Universities, 2017)
  • 28% of students who experienced stalking reported it.
  • 25.5% of students who experienced physically forced penetration reported it.
  • 7% of students who experienced sexual touching involving physical force reported it.
  • 5% of students who experienced sexual touching involving incapacitation reported it. 
• The most common reason for not reporting an experience of sexual violence is because students did not consider it “serious enough.” (Association of American Universities, 2017)
  • 78.6% of students who experienced harassment did not consider it serious enough to report.
  • 75.6% of students who experienced sexual touching due to physical force did not consider it serious enough to report.
  • 74.1% of students who experienced sexual touching due to incapacitation did not consider it serious enough to report.
  • 58.6% of students who experienced penetration involving physical force did not consider it serious enough to report.
• 35.9% of students who experienced forced penetration did not report the event due to embarrassment or emotional distress. A similar proportion of students did not report their experience because they did not think anything would be done about it. (Association of American Universities, 2017)
• 70% of survivors who reported to their schools stated they experienced adverse effects on their safety and privacy. (Know Your IX, 2021)
• 39% of survivors who reported sexual violence to their schools experienced a substantial disruption in their education. (Know Your IX, 2021)
  • 27% of survivors who reported took a leave of absence.
  • 20% of survivors who reported transferred schools.
  • Almost 10% of survivors who reported dropped out of school entirely.
• A study from the University of California showed that many survivors there are afraid to report an incident due to fear of retaliation, humiliation, or that others may not believe them. (Survivors + Allies, 2024)

Criminal Justice System Responses

• 57% of trans and non-binary people said they feel uncomfortable asking the police for help. 58% who interacted with law enforcement in the past year experienced mistreatment, such as verbal harassment, repeated misgendering, physical assault, or sexual assault. (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2019)
• A study from the University of California showed that student survivors there overwhelmingly distrust both campus and local police departments. (Survivors + Allies, 2024)
  • LGBTQIA+ students exhibited a 64% reduced likelihood of trusting UCPD compared to their heterosexual peers.

COVID-19 Trends

• At the height of the pandemic, global projections estimated that gender-based violence would increase by 20% during periods of sheltering in place. (American Psychological Association, 2023)
• Gender-based violence has been exacerbated by increasing economic stress and decreasing social support brought about by the pandemic. (American Psychological Association, 2023)
  • Economic constraints affected the ability of someone experience campus sexual assault to leave the same living quarters as the aggressor. For example, students’ loss of access to on-campus housing and retail and service sector jobs exacerbated financial instability.
• Risk factors that increased during the early days of the pandemic included rising alcohol consumption, isolation and limited social support systems, and minimal on-campus support. (Ms. Magazine, 2020)

Health Effects of Violence

• Women who experience first-semester sexual assault were more than twice as likely to have clinically significant depression or anxiety symptoms at the end of the first semester. (National Library of Medicine, 2018)
• A study from the University of California showed that 51% of student survivors there are not currently connected to adequate mental health services or social support for their experiences. (Survivors + Allies, 2024)
  • Asian students are 36% less likely to trust CAPS (UC’s Counseling and Psychological Services) compared to white students.
  • Transgender students are 45% less likely to trust CAPS than cisgender women.
  • 31% of survivors reported difficulties accessing an appointment through CAPS, and marginalized student groups wanted more therapists who looked like them.

Economic Effects of Violence

• The estimated lifetime cost of rape is $122,461 per victim. This study included medical costs, lost work productivity among victims and perpetrators, criminal justice activities, and other costs such as property loss or damage. (American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2017)

There are significant gaps in the research surrounding the prevalence of violence perpetrated against students who identify as LGBTQI+, people of color, disabled, undocumented, international, and first-generation or low-income. We have provided data below for students as well as non-student survivors to provide insights into the elevated violence these groups face.

We also want to highlight Kimberlé Crenshaw’s definition of intersectionality alongside this information. Although individual identities detailed below have an elevated risk of sexual assault, it is important to understand that each person’s risk and lived experience is different based on the different identities they hold.

LGBTQI+ Students

• LGBTQ+ college students are more likely to experience sexual violence compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers. (American Psychological Association, 2023)
  • Students who identify as LGBTQ men are nine times as likely to have experienced sexual assaults as heterosexual male students.
  • Students who identify as LGBTQ women are twice as likely as heterosexual female students to have been sexually assaulted.
  • Gay and bisexual men reported similar rates of campus sexual assault as heterosexual women.
• Exploratory research found that LGBTQ+ college students expressed doubt that LGBTQ+ survivors would receive the support and services they need within formal institutions, citing cisheterosexist barriers to accessing support. (American Psychological Association, 2022)
• 47% of all transgender people have been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives, and these rates are even higher for trans people of color and those who have done sex work, been homeless, or have (or had) a disability. (National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 2019)

Students of Color

• While 80% of rapes are reported by white women, women of color are more likely to be assaulted than white women. (End Rape on Campus)
• Approximately 25% of Native American women, 23% of Latina women, 22% of multiracial women, 21% of Pacific Islander women, 18% of Black women, and 12% of Asian American women report encountering campus sexual assault. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020)
• In one study, some women of color suggested that “white feminism” influenced their perceptions of and decisions to not report their experiences with campus sexual assault. (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2020)
• Variation in reported sexual assault experiences by race and ethnicity may be influenced by sociocultural values and experiences that shape the conceptualization, perception, and reporting of sexual assault. (American Psychological Association, 2023)
• The vast majority of “ethnic minority” college students who experienced campus sexual violence also experienced at least one form of institutional betrayal. (National Library of Medicine, 2022)
• A study from the University of California showed that Asian and Latinx students there are 40% less likely to know what the Title IX office does when compared to white students. (Survivors + Allies, 2024)

Students with Disabilities

For more information, see Survivor Justice is Disability Justice from the National Women’s Law Center

• Students with disabilities are more likely to be victims of sexual assault than their peers who do not have a disability. (American Psychological Association, 2023)
  • 31.6% of undergraduate females with disabilities reported non-consensual sexual contact involving physical force or incapacitation, compared to 18.4% of undergraduate females without a disability.
  • Students with disabilities are six times less likely than their peers to report sexual assault, often due to lack of accessibility to information on reporting as well as stigma surrounding disability and sexual assault.
• Students who did not report any disability had the lowest rate of nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent (9.4%). (Association of American Universities, 2020)
  • 26.3% of students who reported a chronic mental health condition had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent.
  • 25% of students who reported two or more disabilities had experienced nonconsensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent.
• According to the U.S. Department of Justice, hate crimes based on disability increased by 35% from 2017 to 2019. (American Psychological Association, 2023)

Undocumented Students

• A study from the University of California showed that 38% of students there do not know that undocumented students are covered by Title IX. (Survivors + Allies, 2024)

International Students

• A study from the University of California showed that international student survivors there were more likely to utilize Title IX and UCPD, but less likely to access other services. (Survivors + Allies, 2024)
  • Around 20% of international student survivors utilized Title IX compared with around 7% of all students.
  • Around 18% of all student survivors access CAPS (UC’s Counseling and Psychological Services) compared with around 12% of international student survivors.
  • Still, 32% of students do not know that international students are covered by Title IX.

First-Generation and Low-Income Students

• Barriers to higher education, including socioeconomic status and first-generation status, are associated with increased risk for campus sexual assault. (American Psychological Association, 2023)
  • Students who have difficulty paying for basic expenses have been shown to experience higher rates of campus sexual assault.