Reports of rape, sexual assault increase at midstate colleges

(Harrisburg) — Reports of rape, sexual assault, domestic violence and stalking have increased at midstate colleges and universities from 2013 until 2015.

The WITF analysis shows comes from statistics schools are required to disclose under federal law.

Studies show college students often don’t report rape and sexual assaults.

Kristin Houser of the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape says more incidents are likely occurring, but aren’t getting reported.

“If anybody thinks there’s nothing happening, they are likely very uninformed and very misguided,” she says.

A higher number of rapes and sexual assaults were reported at four private colleges in the midstate – Dickinson, Elizabethtown, Franklin and Marshall, and Gettysburg.

Dickinson and Franklin and Marshall declined to make someone available to answer questions.

“We are grappling with what every other college is grappling with. My role is to make us as safe and as welcoming an environment as possible for all students,” says Armenta Hinton, Elizabethtown College’s Title IX coordinator.

Hinton says the school holds seminars for students and has full-time staff devoted to rape and sexual assault education and reporting.

“I don’t know what is causing some of these instances. Could it be that it’s considered a safe environment and it’s considered a false sense of safety? I don’t know,” Hinton adds.

Hinton says Elizabethtown has a team of people working to make it easier to come forward.

But she acknowledges there are many challenges ahead.

Gettysburg Associate Vice President Jeff Foster says he believes some students aren’t reporting incidents.

“Our focus is on making sure students feel they can access support resources and reporting and then we kinda go from there,” he says.

Foster says Gettysburg has changed policies, educated students, and held bystander intervention trainings in an effort to increase reporting and awareness.

Some schools reported no issues.

Kristin Houser with the PCAR says people shouldn’t draw conclusions from the numbers alone.

“The difference is whether or not the college or campus is making significant efforts to talk about it, to make it okay to discuss these things, making resources available to students so they feel safe coming forward and that they know that they’re going to get what they need, what they’re asking for,” says Houser.