Survey Results: Sexual Harassment
The prevalence of sexual harassment decreased across groups from 2015 to 2021. Compared to 2015, the 2021 instructions for these questions were more explicit in clarifying that participants were being asked specifically about sexually harassing behaviors that occurred in the context of CU-related activities (in person or remote), rather than any sexual harassment participants might have experienced during their time as students at CU. This may account for some of the reduction seen in these rates.
Note that the questions asking about Sexual Harassment appeared earlier in the survey than the other forms of sexual misconduct and as such have higher numbers of responses; a small proportion of student participants exited the survey at or before the point where the questions about the other forms of sexual misconduct were presented.
2015 | 2021 | |||||
Sexual Harassment | N | Freq | % | N | Freq | % |
Undergraduate Women | 5,519 | 1534 | 28% | 4,364 | 841 | 19% |
Undergraduate Men | 4,821 | 451 | 9% | 3,485 | 181 | 5% |
Graduate Women | 1,168 | 233 | 20% | 1,527 | 95 | 6% |
Graduate Men | 1,428 | 94 | 7% | 1,552 | 35 | 2% |
Below are the prevalence rates for the most common sexual harassment behaviors reported by students who experienced sexual harassment. Results are only displayed if there are at least 10 participants who reported a specific behavior.
The increased prevalence of behaviors related to online or digital forms of sexual harassment (e.g., “Made offensive sexualized remarks to you (or about you to others) by text, email, or social media”; “Sent or posted unwelcome sexual comments, jokes, or pictures to you by any means, including text, email, or social media”) may be due to greater opportunity for such behaviors in the COVID-19 era, as more activities were conducted online.
Undergraduate Women | 2015 | 2021 |
Made offensive remarks to you (or about you to others) regarding your appearance, body, or sexual activities | 45% | 39% |
Made unwanted attempts to touch you in a sexual way | 34% | 38% |
Without your consent, touched you or made you touch them in a sexual way, did something sexual to you, or made you do something sexual to them | 33% | 38% |
Continued to ask you out for dates, drinks, dinner, etc., even though you said “No” | 35% | 36% |
Treated you badly for refusing to engage in a romantic/dating relationship or in sexual activity | 19% | 27% |
Repeatedly told sexual stories or jokes that were offensive to you | 41% | 26% |
Made sexualized gestures or used sexualized body language that embarrassed or offended you | 26% | 26% |
Made offensive sexualized remarks to you (or about you to others) by text, email, or social media | 14% | 21% |
Sent or posted unwelcome sexual comments, jokes, or pictures to you by any means, including text, email, or social media | 8% | 18% |
Spread sexual rumors about you by any means, including text, email, or social media | 8% | 12% |
Undergraduate Men | 2015 | 2021 |
Made offensive remarks to you (or about you to others) regarding your appearance, body, or sexual activities | 35% | 33% |
Repeatedly told sexual stories or jokes that were offensive to you | 36% | 27% |
Without your consent, touched you or made you touch them in a sexual way, did something sexual to you, or made you do something sexual to them | 16% | 24% |
Made unwanted attempts to touch you in a sexual way | 19% | 23% |
Made offensive sexualized remarks to you (or about you to others) by text, email, or social media | 11% | 23% |
Spread sexual rumors about you by any means, including text, email, or social media | 10% | 23% |
Treated you badly for refusing to engage in a romantic/dating relationship or in sexual activity | 10% | 20% |
Continued to ask you out for dates, drinks, dinner, etc., even though you said “No” | 11% | 18% |
Made sexualized gestures or used sexualized body language that embarrassed or offended you | 15% | 15% |
Sent or posted unwelcome sexual comments, jokes, or pictures to you by any means, including text, email, or social media | 7% | 15% |
Graduate Women | 2015 | 2021 |
Made offensive remarks to you (or about you to others) regarding your appearance, body, or sexual activities | 46% | 40% |
Continued to ask you out for dates, drinks, dinner, etc., even though you said “No” | 24% | 37% |
Made offensive sexualized remarks to you (or about you to others) by text, email, or social media | 10% | 24% |
Repeatedly told sexual stories or jokes that were offensive to you | 44% | 23% |
Made unwanted attempts to touch you in a sexual way | 15% | 17% |
Treated you badly for refusing to engage in a romantic/dating relationship or in sexual activity | 9% | 15% |
Made sexualized gestures or used sexualized body language that embarrassed or offended you | 24% | 14% |
Without your consent, touched you or made you touch them in a sexual way, did something sexual to you, or made you do something sexual to them | 20% | 14% |
Sent or posted unwelcome sexual comments, jokes, or pictures to you by any means, including text, email, or social media | 7% | 14% |
Graduate Men | 2015 | 2021 |
Made offensive remarks to you (or about you to others) regarding your appearance, body, or sexual activities | 24% | 37% |
Repeatedly told sexual stories or jokes that were offensive to you | 47% | 29% |
Spread sexual rumors about you by any means, including text, email, or social media | 12% | 26% |
In both 2015 and 2021, the most common type of perpetrator for undergraduate women and men was another undergraduate student:
- Women: 89% in 2015 and 81% in 2021
- Men: 84% in 2015 and 65% in 2021
The proportion of undergraduates indicating that they prefer not to identify the role(s) of the sexual harasser increased from 2015 to 2021, perhaps reflecting increased concerns about the privacy of personal information.
Similarly, in both 2015 and 2021, the most common perpetrator for graduate men and women was another graduate student:
- Women: 55% in 2015, 57% in 2021
- Men: 60% in 2015, 71% in 2021
For both graduate women and men, the next most common perpetrators were faculty member(s) and undergraduates.
The 2021 survey introduced a new set of questions that asked about the consequences of the sexual harassment students had experienced.
For undergraduate women, the most prevalent consequences were:
- Affected your mental health (64%)
- Eroded your confidence in your abilities (50%)
- Caused you to be less productive in your academic work (46%)
For undergraduate men, the most prevalent consequences were:
- Affected your mental health (69%)
- Caused you to be less productive in your academic work (64%)
- Caused you to be less committed to the university (58%)
For graduate women, the most prevalent consequences were:
- Affected your mental health (78%)
- Eroded your confidence in your abilities (65%)
- Caused you to be less certain about your future career (63%)
For graduate men, the most prevalent consequences were:
- Affected your mental health (67%)
- Caused you to consider not recommending CU to someone considering studying here (67%)
- Eroded your confidence in your abilities (56%)