7 rapes, 2 cases of sex abuse. What's behind surge in sexual assault reports at UK?

Dec. 17--A recent uptick in reported rapes and sexual abuse on campus could be attributed to an increased willingness among students to report assaults, University of Kentucky officials said.

Even though students received bulletins on seven reported rapes and two cases of sexual abuse this semester, campus leaders say they don't believe more assaults are occurring.

UK's Title IX Coordinator Martha Alexander said that she and the UK Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity representatives believe that the increase in alerts can be attributed to a change in reporting.

"The key difference between this year and prior years is that people are reporting in different ways, coming forward more quickly, and are providing more information," Alexander said. "That combination is leading to UKPD having enough information to issue a timely warning if they determine it is necessary."

UK President Eli Capilouto acknowledged the multiple reported assaults in a Nov. 22 email to campus. He said that he hoped efforts to educate campus and "push back against the debilitating stigma" around sexual assault could be contributing to more people speaking out.

In 2015, open records requests revealed that the number of students who were going to campus resource centers to get help for sexual assaults in Kentucky far outnumbered the assaults that were reported to police. The disparity was found not just at UK, but at the University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University and others.

A rape or sexual assault does not have to be reported directly to UK police or involve a criminal investigation for there to be a campus crime bulletin released as required by federal law. But there has to be information on the time and location of the assault for an alert to be sent, according to the university.

In each of this fall's reported cases -- most or all of which occurred in residence halls -- the victim knew the suspect, UK Police Chief Joe Monroe said. There are charges pending in one of the cases.

Nationally, a high percentage of sexual assault victims choose not to pursue criminal charges against suspects, Monroe pointed out.

Victims can choose to deal with what happened in other ways, such as through campus resources like the Title IX office or the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center, also known as the VIP Center, Alexander said. Alexander previously said that actions taken against alleged perpetrators are largely driven by what the victim wants.

When victims do not want to press charges, they have the option to pursue university actions like disciplinary hearings, residence hall moves or class changes to avoid contact with the accused.

It's possible that the training could be affecting how and when students report sexual assault, Alexander said.

In the last two years, UK has offered more training for students and employees on the importance of reporting sexual assault, Alexander said. The training sessions cover reporting options, the responsibility of UK faculty and staff in reporting incidents and what resources are available.

Incoming UK undergraduate students are required to take a training course on sexual assault prevention.

The violence prevention center offers the Green Dot and #ConsentCulture programs. Green Dot teaches participants how to deal with sexual or gender-based violence as a bystander.

The VIP Center provides confidential services for students and campus employees who have been victims of sexual violence; domestic and dating violence; or stalking, said Taryn Henning, the center's director. The VIP Center can be reached at 859-257-3574 or vipcenter@uky.edu.

Students who have been sexually assaulted or experienced sexual harassment have a number of options to get help, Alexander said.

"We take this very seriously," Alexander said. "The safety and well-being of our students is our top priority at the University of Kentucky, as evidenced by the significant investments we've made in recent years for safety, counseling, and training."

In addition to this semester's nine cases of rape or sexual abuse, UK police received delayed reports of two rapes that occurred in previous years and one report that was determined to be unfounded, Monroe said.

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