In this file photo from Sept. 16, 2014, demonstrators sit outside Strong Hall to protest Kansas University's handling of sexual assault investigations.

Four percent of undergraduate and 2 percent of graduate students at the University of Kansas have experienced unwanted sexual contact during their time at KU.

That’s according to recently released results of a campuswide climate survey administered in the fall, which described “unwanted sexual contact” as incidents such as fondling, rape, sexual assault, penetration without consent or gang rape.

KU’s new survey results represent the most comprehensive such data the university has, but undergraduates — the age most likely to be sexually assaulted — had the lowest response rate of all constituency groups the survey addressed.

Jen Brockman, director of KU’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center, said her office would approach results with that in mind.

“It’s definitely a higher response rate than we’ve gotten in the past,” she said. “We’ll let this information help inform and guide us, but know that we don’t have the entire picture.”

Learning more about the prevalence of sexual assault at KU has been a key stated goal of the climate survey since planning for it began more than a year and a half ago.

Emil Cunningham of Rankin & Associates Consulting, the firm KU hired to lead the climate survey process, first presented results to KU employees and students on March 29.

Cunningham’s presentation as well as the full 600-page document of all survey results are online at climatestudy.ku.edu.

Cunningham said the goal was at least a 30 percent response rate.

KU’s overall response rate for the climate survey — students, faculty and staff — was 22 percent, according to the presentation. A total of 6,774 people took the survey.

Among undergraduates, the response rate was only 15 percent, according to the presentation. A total of 2,731 undergrads took the survey.

Although the prevalence of unwanted sexual contact indicated by the survey was lower than what’s reported nationally, Brockman said trends within the results reflected what’s seen nationally.

Most victims are female undergraduates, in the fall semester of their freshman year. Alcohol is involved more often than not, and most victims know the assailant.

Also, according to KU’s survey results, percentage-wise, transgender individuals are more likely to experience unwanted sexual contact (10 percent) than female (3 percent) or male (1 percent). Brockman said racial and ethnic minorities also have a higher rate of sexual assault, and there’s an explanation for that.

“We know that the motivation for sexual violence is power and control,” she said. “So historically, individuals who have intersecting identities which have been oppressed, or violence has been committed against, those individuals are at higher risk.”

KU’s climate survey also sought information about what people did after experiencing unwanted sexual contact. Few reported to law enforcement or campus authorities.

One theme was that those people expected no positive response, according to the survey results.

“Many of the respondents said they did not report the unwanted sexual contact because they expected that no positive response would come from reporting,” according to Rankin & Associates’ summary of comments. “Some respondents felt that they would not be believed or taken seriously when they shared their story.”

Other themes for not reporting were victims “explaining away” the misconduct, deciding it was not worth reporting or being fearful of consequences.

Survey comments — although reflecting a small number of people — were not particularly complimentary of the Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access, the office charged with investigating complaints of sexual violence at KU.

Results indicate that fewer than five respondents who experienced unwanted sexual contact reported it to IOA. Of those who did, several indicated in write-in comments that they’d been dissatisfied with the process, the outcome or the consequence levied upon the offender.

A new director, Shane McCreery, took the reins at IOA in fall 2016, not long before the survey was administered.

McCreery did not respond to messages from the Journal-World. His office referred inquiries to KU public affairs.

KU spokeswoman Erinn Barcomb-Peterson declined to answer questions about survey results related to IOA.

“The next phase of the climate study process is for campus leaders to develop strategic steps with the KU community over the summer,” Barcomb-Peterson said, in an email. “To develop those steps, university leaders will need the coming weeks and months to thoroughly review the full 600-page report. At that point, we’ll be able to discuss specific data points.”

KU climate survey: Unwanted sexual contact

The following information is for survey respondents who said they experienced unwanted sexual contact while at KU.

KU constituency group

• 105 were undergraduates

• 30 were graduate students

• 5 were faculty

• 17 were staff

Alcohol involvement (for student respondents only)

• 73 percent said alcohol was involved. About 10 percent of those respondents said drugs were involved, too.

• 27 percent said alcohol or drugs weren’t involved

When it occurred (student respondents only)

• 56 percent said freshman year

• 27 percent said sophomore year

• 13 percent said junior year

• 6 percent said senior year

• For those who said freshman, sophomore and senior years, more than 60 percent said it occurred in the fall semester. For those who said junior year, more said it occurred in the spring.

Where it occurred (all respondents)

• 32 percent said on campus

• 69 percent said off-campus

Who did it (all respondents)

• 43 percent said an acquaintance or friend

• 33 percent said KU student

• 25 percent said stranger

• 12 percent said current or former intimate partner

• 5 percent said other

• 3 percent said KU staff member

Action in response (all respondents)

• 54 percent told a friend

• 52 percent avoided the person or venue

• 37 percent didn’t do anything

• 14 percent didn’t know who to tell

• 13 percent told family member

Source: KU climate survey presentation by Rankin & Associates Consulting, climatestudy.ku.edu