Survey Finds Lower Incidence of Sexual Assault at HBCUs Compared to Predominantly White Colleges and Universities

New research, published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence by scholars at the University of North Carolina, North Carolina Central University, and Florida A&M University, finds that just under 10 percent of all women enrolled in black colleges and universities reported being a victim of a sexual assault during their college years. For women at predominantly white universities, 13.7 percent reported being a victim of sexual assault.

The authors surveyed nearly 4,000 women at black colleges and universities and more than 5,400 women at predominantly white institutions. The researchers concluded that the lower incidence of alcohol abuse at HBCUs was a major factor in the lower rate of sexual assault on these campuses.

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