The number of sex crimes reported at Brown more than doubled from 2006 to 2007, according to a report released last week, a change that University officials said demonstrated students' increased willingness to seek campus resources following an incident.
"The number change does not mean the prevalence (of sexual assault and rape) increased. It means that people reported and got support," said Sexual Assault Response and Prevention Program Coordinator Trisha Glover. "It's a success in that way."
The number of "forcible sex offences" committed on campus increased from four in 2006 to nine in 2007, according to the annual crime report from the Department of Public Safety.
"I think to talk about the number, you have to understand the context of the issue," said Director of Health Education Frances Mantak. "It's the most underreported crime across the country and across campuses."
"Anytime you see an increase in reporting," she said, "it's a positive thing that people came forward."
Glover's position was created last year to provide more resources to victims of sexual assault.
The work of the student-led Sexual Assault Task Force - which resulted in the announcement of a peer education program, a 24-hour campus sexual assault hotline and other resources - could have prompted more students to report sexual offenses last year, said Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn.
Most studies suggest that about 5 percent of college women will be victims of completed or attempted sexual assault each year, and fewer than 5 percent of victims will report the crimes to law enforcement or campus security.
"We never rely on reports," Mantak said, to determine the prevalence of sex crimes on campus. "The best statistics are from well-constructed surveys," she said.
These surveys indicate that the number of reported sexual assaults and rapes at Brown is nowhere near the number of actual incidents, Mantak said.
A victim's decision not to report a sex crime or seek help can be influenced by a number of factors. Students may be unsure if their experiences constitute assault or rape, have difficulty speaking about their experiences to others and not know which resources meet their needs, Klawunn said. Complicated social values, fear of judgment and denial also inform many students' choice not to report sex crimes.
"This is not an issue that is a result of what happens at Brown," Mantak said of underreporting. The number of incidents involving factors that could be linked with sex crimes on campus has not changed, said Senior Associate Dean for Student Life Allen Ward, citing the stable number of alcohol-related incidents and unsanctioned parties as indicators that the campus environment has not changed.
"We are always trying to address whatever environmental risk factors are involved," Klawunn said.
DPS publishes a report detailing the number and approximate location of crimes on campus each year in accordance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, which was passed by Congress in 1990..
The Clery Act requires administrators to report all incidents they judge to be sex crimes. The location and date of the offense must be known in order for it to be included in the count, but no investigation or other details are required. Statistics can also be amended if a student comes forward with information related to an episode that occurred in previous years.
Because the location of one of the 2006 incidents was unknown, the official number in the report was actually three. A note was added to the report explaining the discrepancy.
"If a student comes forward they are in no way pressured to give any information they don't want to give out," Ward said.
Marta daSilva '09, who co-directed "Hush," a documentary about victims of sexual assault, said she was glad that sexual assault statistics are becoming more realistic.
"We can't perpetuate the misunderstanding that this doesn't happen on our campus," she said. "There is too much stigma and silence around it for it to be completely resolved."
DaSilva, who worked with the Sexual Assault Task Force last fall to improve Brown's resources for victims of sexual assault, said "the numbers are realistic and it's a lot more telling of the threat on campus."
"It's not just something you imagine happening to other people," she added.
