Is sexual assault a problem at Harvard?
Yes, rape and sexual violence are both serious problems on this campus. President Larry Summers has referred to the incidence of sexual assault on this campus as a “quiet calamity”. A University Health Services survey in the year 2000 found that 128 students had experienced “attempted sexual penetration” against their will, and that 52 students had experienced completed sexual penetration against their will. Furthermore, the Dept. of Justice “Victimization of College Women” report from December 2000 found that 27.7 women are raped for every 1,000 female students. It follows that at Harvard, with approximately 3,000 female undergraduates, approximately 83 rapes occur each year. This is truly a crisis situation.
