Survey: One In Seven Female Students At University Of Texas Report Being Raped

FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014 file photo, Texas Tech freshman Regan Elder helps drape a bed sheet with the message "No Means No" over the university's seal at the Lubbock, Texas campus to protest what studen... FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014 file photo, Texas Tech freshman Regan Elder helps drape a bed sheet with the message "No Means No" over the university's seal at the Lubbock, Texas campus to protest what students say is a "rape culture" on campus. A picture of a banner at a Sept. 20 Phi Delta Theta fraternity gathering, briefly posted online, read, "No Means Yes," followed by a graphic sexual remark. A study by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the University of Windsor published on Wednesday, June 10, 2015 found that a program that taught college women ways to prevent sexual assault cut in half the chances they would be raped over the next year. It was the first large, scientific test of resistance training, and the strong results should spur more universities to offer it, experts say. (AP Photo/Betsy Blaney) MORE LESS
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AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Nearly 15 percent of female undergraduates at the University of Texas at Austin reported being raped in a survey released by officials at the 50,000-student campus Friday.

The survey comes at a time when Baylor University and state lawmakers are facing a widespread sexual assault scandal involving football players at the nation’s largest Baptist university.

The Texas survey data works out to about 1 in 7 undergraduate women in Austin. Nationwide, about 1 in 4 college women reported unwanted sexual contact in a 2015 survey by the Association of American Universities.

The flagship Texas campus is one of the largest in the U.S. and released Friday’s report ahead of schedule after a legislator this week revealed the 15 percent figure during a hearing in the Texas Capitol. The Baylor scandal, which has engulfed the university for the past two years, has prompted several bills aimed at increasing reporting and reducing sexual assaults on campus.

Baylor officials have acknowledged at least 17 women reported being raped by 19 football players since 2011. Lawsuits against the school put the number of alleged sexual assaults at more than 50 over a four-year period. The scandal led to the firing of football coach Art Briles and university president Ken Starr stepping down.

A Baylor spokeswoman did not immediately return a phone call or email Friday from The Associated Press asking if the university has conducted a similar survey.

The University of Texas report was the result of an internet survey of more than 7,600 students and was funded by the school. Among the other findings were 28 percent of female undergraduates reporting unwanted sexual touching, and that 87 percent of all incidents occurred off-campus.

“The results of this survey of our students are of tremendous concern to me, and I know these findings are deeply troubling to every member of our community,” University of Texas President Gary Fenves said in a statement.

The University of Texas was also part of the 2015 national survey that found that 18.5 percent of female undergraduates on the Austin campus were the victim of sexual assault. Researchers said that although the new numbers closely track the previous findings, the two surveys were conducted differently.

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Follow Paul J. Weber on Twitter: www.twitter.com/pauljweber

Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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