This message contains references to sexual assault and misconduct.
October 21, 2024
Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community:
On behalf of President DeGioia, I write to provide an update on the University’s third campus climate survey relating to sexual misconduct and our ongoing work to address these issues.
Over the past two-and-a-half decades, since we hired our first Title IX coordinator in 1997, we have expanded our efforts, with a specific focus on education and prevention, support for those impacted by sexual misconduct, and a prompt and equitable process to address complaints of sexual misconduct. In 2016, we instituted our first climate survey to gather data from all undergraduate and graduate and professional students on their experiences and perceptions related to sexual assault and misconduct on campus. A second survey was conducted in 2019.
Our most recent survey was conducted between February 1 and March 20, 2024, with 15.3% of students responding (a lower response rate than previous surveys). All three of these surveys were conducted with a national survey instrument administered by the survey firm Westat to allow us to compare results with other participating institutions. In 2024, 10 institutions, including Georgetown, participated in the survey.
Key Findings
All members of our community are invited to review the Georgetown report and the aggregate report of all participating schools as well as find more survey information and resources on our sexual misconduct website.
Regarding non-consensual sexual contact: Non-consensual sexual contact includes behaviors ranging from unwanted sexual touching to unwanted penetration. 25.3% of undergraduate women reported experiencing non-consensual sexual contact by physical force or inability to consent since entering Georgetown, a lower rate than the 31.6% reported in the 2019 survey and the 31% reported in the 2016 survey. 10.6% of undergraduate men reported nonconsensual sexual contact. For graduate students, the percentages were significantly lower, with 8.4% of graduate women, and 2.2% of graduate men reporting nonconsensual sexual contact. 20.3% of gender nonbinary, transgender, questioning, or gender self-identified students reported non-consensual sexual assault.
Regarding sexual harassment: 21% of students reported experiencing sexual harassment, defined as behaviors that interfered with their academic or professional performance, limited their ability to participate in an academic program, or created an intimidating, hostile, or offensive environment. Among undergraduate gender nonbinary, transgender, questioning, or gender self-identified students, 69.9% reported experiencing harassment, a statistically significant higher level than the estimate for the broader student population.
These numbers remain far too high. While we are seeing progress in several areas, we still have significant work to do to ensure all members of our community are treated with dignity and respect. It is imperative we deepen our collective efforts to eradicate sexual misconduct in our community.
The survey also contains important data on student awareness of policies and procedures, student bystander behaviors, and student perceptions of the campus community and institutional responses and resources related to sexual misconduct. The percentage of students perceiving sexual assault or other sexual misconduct as “very” or “extremely” problematic at Georgetown has decreased significantly since 2019.
We continue to emphasize two important areas of work informed by the survey results:
- Bystander Intervention: We continue to see strong indications that students are gaining awareness and skills that have enabled them to help others who may be experiencing misconduct or harassment. More than 72% of students indicated that when they witnessed behaviors that made others feel uncomfortable or offended, they took some type of action. We will continue to require mandatory training for all incoming undergraduate students and additional training for student leaders.
- Resource Awareness: The survey indicates some of the most common reasons why a student may not choose to access resources or support following an experience of sexual misconduct. Some of the most common reasons for not reporting an incident included students saying that the incident was not serious enough to contact programs or resources (63.4%); that they felt they could handle it themselves (49.3%); or that they didn’t think the resources would give them the help they needed (18.8%). We will use these findings to inform how we enhance our ongoing resource awareness campaigns and the activities we put in place to engage with students on these issues.
Moving Forward
We have conducted these surveys to understand the prevalence of sexual misconduct in our community and strengthen our collective responses. Each survey has provided important data for us to measure our progress, and it is clear that there is significantly more work for us to do as a community.
In response to past surveys, our colleagues have convened to review the data, have met and talked with students to understand more deeply their perceptions and experiences. Our Office of Title IX Compliance, working closely with colleagues and with students, will be reviewing how this year’s survey results can inform our programs and the resources available to our community.
In addition to the Title IX office, Health Education Services (HES) and Counseling and Psychiatric Services (CAPS) provide important resources, including on-campus confidential counseling services and links to other on- and off-campus services that support students. Georgetown also has a variety of semi-confidential and non-confidential resources to support survivors. We are committed to improving awareness of these resources so that students know where to go, how to report misconduct, how to get help when they need it, and can feel confidence in the process. We encourage all members of our community to visit Georgetown’s sexual misconduct resources website for more information.
We each have a responsibility to care and support one another as members of this community. As we continue our work to strengthen our resources and responses, we invite all members of our community to contribute positively to fostering an environment that is free of sexual misconduct and harassment. This is work we must do together.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Groves
Provost
Rosemary Kilkenny
Vice President, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer
Joseph Ferrara
Vice President and Chief of Staff to President DeGioia