The Office of Institutional Equity detailed 126 reported sexual assaults, 34 incidents of stalking and 65 incidents of intimate partner violence on campus in 2018. Photo by Judah Shingleton / The Daily Campus
There were 64 rape cases, 23 fondling cases and 30 stalking cases on the University of Connecticut Storrs campus from 2016 to 2018, according to the annual Fire Safety and Security Report.
The Fire Safety and Security Report (FSSR), which details on-campus Clery crimes, violence against women and drug and liquor law violations, and the Office of Institutional Equity (OIE) report, which details sexual assaults, stalkings and intimate partner violence cases, were released to the UConn community earlier this week.
The OIE detailed 126 reported sexual assaults, 34 incidents of stalking and 65 incidents of intimate partner violence on campus in 2018. The report defines “on campus” property as “any building or property owned or controlled by an institution within the same reasonably contiguous geographic area.”
Of these reported cases, only 15 sexual assault investigations were conducted, as were five for stalking and seven for intimate partner violence, according to the report.
Reitz said there are several explanations for the difference in reported cases and investigated cases.
“Many disclosures of sexual assault, intimate partner violence and stalking that UConn receives each year do not have an identified respondent (accused person) connected to UConn,” Reitz said.
Additionally, UConn may defer to the wishes of the victim-survivor and not proceed with an investigation, Reitz said. The University, in those cases, may instead take a variety of responsive and preventative actions, including behavioral meetings with the alleged respondent or additional training and prevention work within impacted organizations and departments.
“Most importantly, listen without judgement and allow the impacted student to make their own decisions about next steps,” Reitz said.
Areas such as stalking and motor vehicle theft experienced the largest dips of statistical significance.
“Statistics are dynamic and affected by several factors,” Reitz said. “The dip in reports of stalking raised questions in 2017, which led us to take steps to raise awareness on stalking, including through the S.T.A.R.T. initiative at UConn Police.”
The cases presented in the release only include those that were reported to campus authorities, and did not reflect or represent incidents reported to confidential resources on campus, according to the report.
“This is an important part of UConn’s commitment to creating and maintaining a campus free from all forms of sexual harassment, sexual violence, relationship violence and stalking,” according to UConn Today.
Amanda Kilyk is a campus correspondent for The Daily Campus. She can be reached at amanda.kilyk@uconn.edu.
