Sexual assault, specifically against women, is a significant issue many college campuses face today. Unfortunately, there are not many viable solutions to effectively combat this issue, leading to these crimes being massively underreported. Pennsylvania is home to major colleges and universities, making the issue of campus sexual assault even more relevant. More education about the topic and a higher desire to fix these issues must be done.

Sexual assault comes in many different forms and affects all genders, races, etc. Many non-profit organizations, including The American Association of Universities (AAU), The Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network (RAINN), and The American Association of University Women (AAUW) have completed studies to understand the level of prevalence of this crime on college campuses.

Through these findings, illustrated below, it is clear that this issue is common and is indeed a pressing matter. It was also uncovered that while there is evidence to support the frequency of the crime, it still remains an underreported issue. As seen below, AAUW has found the majority of colleges and universities report having no official incidents which means victims are not comfortable reporting the attacks. RAINN has reported on the top reasons victims state for not reporting.

While reporting these incidents to authorities will not solve the trauma and psychological damage that victims are forced to deal with, institutions will realize the severity of the issue and will be forced to create solutions, hopefully putting an end to the prevalence of this terrible crime.