BOSTON — Every year, 11,000 colleges and universities nationwide must tell the federal government about crimes on campus. The 2014 report was just released.
Last year, 91 percent of colleges reported no rapes on campus, and FOX25 discovered a Boston-area university on that list.
Experts say those rape statistics are likely inaccurate after a new nationwide push to fight campus sexual assault.
“What really stood out to us was the fact that 91% of colleges reported no incidences of rape on their campuses. This just, for us, defied reality,” said Lisa Maatz with the American Association of University Women. “This past year, congress and the Obama administration stepped up efforts to prevent campus rape -- and encourage survivors to report rape.”
FOX25 sifted through the report and found Suffolk University reported zero rapes in 2014.
Starting two weeks ago, FOX25 reached out to university officials to see if they were confident in that number. No one has returned voice messages or emails.
“If you're truly not getting reports, there's a problem in that you must not have a good process for students to come forward,” Maatz said.
The Department of Education cautioned against drawing conclusions about campuses reporting no rape, saying campuses differ greatly from one another. But advocates for women’s safety remain skeptical.
“Sexual assault is happening on every campus,” said Maatz.
Whether survivors report it is another story.
To look up campus crime reports at a college or university, click here.
Cox Media Group
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