As shown in Figure 7, the number of sexual assault and stalking allegations reported to OPHD was lower in 2023-24 than in the previous academic/fiscal year. By contrast, the number of sexual harassment allegations and relationship violence allegations increased.
This shift in reporting patterns was reflected both among student and among staff complainants. It is difficult to know the reason for this shift. As always, a shift in reporting may reflect either a shift in incidence and/or a shift in awareness about, or ease of, reporting. The utilization of confidential resources is a helpful additional lens on incidence. As seen in Figure 26, later in this report, the PATH to Care Center did not report a similar shift, compared to the previous year, in the proportion of client visits relating to sexual harassment vs. sexual assault. Data from the next campus-wide climate survey, scheduled for 2025, will contribute additional insights.
Note about Figure 7:
The “SVSH Unspecified” category appearing in Figure 7 was used between 2017-2020 to encompass reports in which OPHD did not have sufficient information about the harm alleged. Beginning with 2020-21, when all campuses systemwide switched tracking software, that broader category was eliminated and replaced by the more specific subcategories of “Sexual Harassment - Unspecified” and “Sexual Assault - Unspecified,” included under the respective umbrella categories of “Sexual Harassment” (see Figure 5) and “Sexual Assault” (see Figure 6).
In 2021-22, sexual exploitation was added as a separate form of Prohibited Conduct in the revised UC SVSH Policy. Data about allegations of sexual exploitation were first included in the 2022 SVSH Annual Report.