University releases sexual assault incident numbers

Shirts hang on the quad in April as part of the Clothesline Project, which is meant to raise awareness of sexual assault. The shirts are color-coded to show the form of abuse and whether the victim survived the abuse they experienced. (Meghan Vosbeek/TommieMedia file photo)
Shirts hang on the quad in April as part of the Clothesline Project, which is meant to raise awareness of sexual assault. The shirts are color-coded to show the form of abuse and whether the victim survived the abuse they experienced. (Meghan Vosbeek/TommieMedia file photo)

The University of St. Thomas received 20 reports of sexual assault from January 2015 to December 2015, according to an email from the dean’s office sent to students Wednesday morning.

Slightly more than half of those were reports of non-consensual sexual intercourse, and the rest were reports of non-consensual sexual contact, the email said.

“We know it’s likely these numbers do not reflect the actual number of people in our community that have been harmed, as the majority of sexual assaults are not reported to police or university officials across the country,” the email read. The message was signed by four administrators: Linda Baughman-Terry, Dean of Students; Emily Erickson, Sexual Misconduct Prevention Program Director; Nora Fitzpatrick, Title IX Coordinator and Dan Meuwissen, Director of Public Safety.

Using national data averages, St. Thomas estimates that 85 incidents of non-consensual sexual intercourse would be expected to occur each year among the undergraduate student population.

“The University of St. Thomas is not immune to these types of violence,” the email said.

The email urged anyone who has experienced sexual assault to seek help and consider reporting the incident to police and the university.