To the Penn community:
Oct 21, 2024 We write today regarding the 2024 Higher Education Sexual Misconduct and Awareness Survey. Along with nine other institutions, Penn engaged with this survey—as we did in 2015 and 2019—as a critical part of our longstanding commitment to protect and support students.
The goal of this survey was to gather information from our undergraduate, graduate, and professional students about sexual misconduct on campus, assess our education and prevention strategies, and guide our efforts moving forward. We thank the more than 7,300 Penn students who responded this year, updating this important data about students’ experiences.
With this year’s results, we note that prevalence rates have declined since 2019. However, we are deeply disturbed by the fact that high rates of sexual misconduct continue. Even one instance is too many. Sexual harassment and violence cross all lines of identity, ability, and background and disproportionately affect the marginalized and vulnerable among us.
In recent years, Penn has done much in collaboration with key campus partners to combat such violence and educate our community since 2019, notably:
- Invested in new staff positions in Penn Violence Prevention, the Office of the Associate Vice President of Equity and Title IX Officer, Restorative Practices@Penn, and Special Services in the Division of Public Safety.
- Enhanced programming for incoming students during New Student Orientation.
- Expanded partnerships and workshops across campus to provide immediate support for wellbeing as well as ongoing education for awareness and prevention.
- And increased student leadership, including the outreach and advocacy of the Penn Anti-Violence Educators (PAVE) and Abuse and Sexual Assault Prevention (ASAP), as well as establishing a Student Advisory Board for Penn Violence Prevention.
Despite these important steps forward, this year’s survey results show that we still have much to do to achieve our shared goal of eliminating sexual misconduct on our campus.
While there is much that these offices and interventions can do to mitigate sexual misconduct, this is an issue that requires our entire community to address. We urge all members of the Penn community to read the survey results, which can be found at https://ira.upenn.edu/surveys-penn-community/campus-climate-survey-sexual-assault-and-sexual-misconduct. Institutional initiatives and resources are crucial, and we rightly concentrate on healing and justice. But our goal must be prevention through education and intervention. We need every member of campus to join in. We strive to be a campus where all are safe and can thrive. So, it is incumbent upon all of us to partner toward prevention.
We also want to remind anyone who has experienced sexual misconduct—or knows someone who has experienced it—of the confidential resources available on campus:
- African-American Resource Center (resource for students, staff or faculty)
- Office of the Chaplain (resource for students, staff, faculty or visitors)
- Employee Assistance Program (resource for staff or faculty)
- Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Center (resource for students, staff or faculty)
- Office of the Ombuds (resource for students, staff or faculty)
- Penn Violence Prevention (resource for students)
- Penn Women’s Center (resource for students, staff or faculty)
- Special Services Department, Division of Public Safety (resource for students, staff, faculty or visitors)
- Student Health and Counseling, including its Sexual Trauma Treatment Outreach and Prevention team also known as STTOP (resource for students)
- Wellness at Penn (resource for students)
Penn’s HELP Line is also available every day of the year, 24 hours a day at (215) 898-HELP (or 215-898-4357) to assist members of our community who are seeking help in navigating campus resources to support health and wellbeing.
Sexual misconduct is utterly unacceptable. We must and we will redouble our efforts and commitment toward prevention, awareness, and education. We are collectively responsible for one another and for building the campus environment we all want: one where every individual can learn and thrive free from violence or fear.