Sex Assaults At NJ Colleges Continue To Rise

Sex assault continues to be a big issue at New Jersey colleges. But the problem is not limited to one campus. According to federal data from the most recent year available, 23 schools in the state recently reported acts of sexual assault.

Acts of violence and sexual assault at New Jersey’s colleges and other post-secondary schools were higher in 2015 than a year earlier, according to data obtained by New Jersey Spotlight.

And while that may alarm people, it also shows that people may be more diligent in reporting cases that have historically been under-reported.

Data from the U.S. Department of Education counted 197 sexual crimes committed on New Jersey campuses and at school-affiliated locations in 2015, an increase of roughly a quarter over 2014, according to New Jersey Spotlight. Incidents of violence against women also rose over the same period by about 45 percent to 448 in 2015.

Patricia Teffenhart, executive director of the New Jersey Coalition Against Sexual Assault, told New Jersey Spotlight that the increases don’t necessarily mean that more incidents are happening.

“Colleges and universities are microcosms of our larger society — and we’re certainly seeing an upswing in awareness and reporting of sexual violence across the board,” she said. “We know that higher numbers of reported incidents at a college or university don’t mean an institution is unsafe."

Here is the list of schools in New Jersey that reported sex assaults, from most number of incidents to least, during 2015:

• Rutgers 47
• Rowan 13
• Princeton 10
• Seton Hall 9
• College of New Jersey 8
• Drew 8
• Montclair 8
• Ramapo 8
• Monmouth 6
• Bergen Community College 6
• William Paterson 6
• Rider 7
• Saint Peter's 7
• Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham 4
• Kean 4
• Rutgers-Newark 4
• Stevens 4
• Stockton 4
• Fairleigh Dickinson University-Teaneck 3
• Caldwell 2
• Rutgers-Camden 2
• NJIT 1
• Passaic 1

The New Jersey Spotlight report says rape was the most common crime, with 119 reported in 2015. The vast majority occurred on school campuses and almost nine in 10 occurred in student housing. Another 65 cases of fondling were reported by students, according to the report.

You can read the whole report here.

Here is map showing where the colleges are located, and where the assaults occurred:

Patch file photo