HILO — More than one in 10 University of Hawaii at Hilo students say they’ve been sexually harassed at some point as a student, and more than 18 percent have experienced dating and domestic violence while enrolled, according to a survey released Monday by the UH.
The goal of the first-ever systemwide survey was to gauge the prevalence of sexual harassment and gender-based violence among UH students both on and off campus. At UH-Hilo, 666 students participated, constituting 10.9 percent of all survey respondents.
At Hawaii Community College, 234 students also participated, or 3.7 percent of respondents, though results for individual community colleges were not provided. Systemwide, about 6,300 students participated in the survey, or 14.1 percent of all adult UH students.
The survey was conducted from Jan. 20 to Feb. 20 last year using $173,824 in general funds appropriated by the Legislature.
Participants were asked 125 survey questions covering four areas: Prevalence of sexual harassment and gender-based violence, student assessment of the university’s response, student perceptions of campus safety and student awareness of policies, processes and programs.
According to the survey, 18.2 percent of UH-Hilo students who experienced sexual harassment reported it to the campus. About 64 percent of those who didn’t report it say they didn’t think it was serious enough to report, and 33.2 percent say they doubted anything would be done.
One in eight UH-Hilo students said they have been stalked at some point as a student, which was higher than all other campuses. Stalking included unwanted phone calls, rumors, texts and emails, or being spied on or watched.
And 7.5 percent of UH-Hilo students said they have experienced some sort of nonconsensual sexual contact while enrolled. The contact included kissing, touching, grabbing, groping or rubbing in a sexual way, oral sex and sexual penetration.
Sexual harassment included offensive sexual remarks or jokes, inappropriate comments related to appearance or sexual activities, and offensive sexual remarks via email, text, tweet or phone.
Domestic violence included threats of physical harm, physical force and being isolated or controlled in relationships.
Systemwide, 9.3 percent of UH students said they’ve been sexually harassed at some point as a student, 19.1 percent said they have been victims of dating and domestic violence, 9.7 percent said they have been stalked and 6.3 percent said they have experienced unwanted sexual contact.
Students who lived in campus housing were more likely to have experienced unwanted sexual contact, stalking and sexual harassment compared to those who lived off campus.
The majority of survey respondents overall said they do not feel at risk for sexual assault or misconduct.
Jennifer Stotter, director of UH-Hilo’s Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action office, said administrators plan to more closely vet UH-Hilo’s data in the coming months to assess areas to improve. She said she’s pleased overall at some of the results including a high number of students systemwide who said they’d take action if they witnessed an incident.
At UH-Hilo, about 71 percent of students who suspected a friend was sexually assaulted said they “did something.”
The survey has been in the works for several years though its release coincides shortly after a national #MeToo campaign which encouraged women to publicize experiences of sexual misconduct on social media.
The UH plans to conduct the survey every two years.
“With the timing of the release and the #MeToo movement, what we hope we’ll see is students be more willing to come share their stories,” Stotter said. “That’s one of the biggest challenges, is getting people to talk about it. The university wants students to be successful and safe. We hope with these happening about the same time, is we’ll see an upward trend in reporting — not an upward trend in incidences — but rather more persons seeking support.”
Full survey results can be found online at https://www.hawaii.edu/titleix/climate-survey/results/
Email Kirsten Johnson at kjohnson@hawaiitribune-herald.com.