The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Sex misconduct reports hit record
NEW HAVEN — Yale University’s reporting of sexual misconduct complaints reached a record 154 for the first half of 2018, including 65 sexual assaults and 63 complaints of sexual harassment, according to the latest report by Deputy Provost Stephanie Spangler, the university’s Title IX coordinator.
The number represented a 24 percent increase from the previous record of 124, set in the last reporting period, July 1-Dec. 31, 2017, which included 41 sexual assaults and 68 reports of sexual harassment.
However, the number of sexual assault complaints submitted by Yale students, staff, faculty, other Yale affiliates or non-Yale complainants shot up by 58.5 percent. The 65 complaints was also a record.
In her introduction to the Jan. 1-June 30 report, Spangler wrote, “While it is impossible to know with certainty the reasons for the sustained increase in reported complaints, it is my hope that it reflects, at least in large part, a growing awareness of the ways in which Yale’s resources can be helpful in addressing instances of sexual misconduct.”
Spangler noted that the number of reports rose significantly after the American Association of Universities released a major “Climate Survey on Sexual Assault and Sexual Misconduct” in September 2015. Yale was one of 27 universities that participated in the survey, which involved more than 150,000 students.
The number of reports rose from 56 in the first half of 2015 to 78 in the second half, then rose into the 80s between Jan. 1, 2016, and June 30, 2017.
“We will gather more information about reporting patterns, community awareness, and the overall prevalence of sexual misconduct affecting the student community when we participate in the second AAU Campus Sexual Climate Survey in the spring of 2019,” Spangler wrote.
In addition to sexual assault and sexual harassment, the semi-annual reports list complaints of intimate partner violence, stalking and non-categorized incidents. The reports began with the period July 1-Dec. 31, 2011.
“Yale University is committed to creating and sustaining a community of inclusion and respect — where all members feel safe and supported as they pursue their academic, professional, and personal aspirations. Effective policies, procedures and programs to address and prevent sexual misconduct are among those initiatives that are essential to realizing this commitment.”
Of the 154 complaints, 138 were by females and 128 were made by undergraduate, graduate or professional school students.
The report includes formal complaints made to the University-Wide Committee on Sexual Misconduct, to a Title IX coordinator or to Yale police. It also includes anonymous descriptions of each complaint, as well as updates to previous complaints.