Emporia State Emergency Management released the Campus Crime and Fire Safety Report on Wednesday, Sept. 27. The report’s release complies with The Clery Act, which requires public universities to report campus crime on or by Oct. 1. in an annual security report.

Contained within the Campus Crime and Fire Safety Report are numbers for campus crime, the annual fire safety report for the residence halls, and university policies and procedures for various situations and emergencies. Additionally, it also offers a statement of victims’ rights,  “risk reduction” strategies, and ways to “be an active upstander” for assault.

The email sent to students by Lexi Mers, Emporia State Emergency Manager, on the day of the release, notes that the report “covers reported crimes that occurred on campus in the past three years, in certain off-campus buildings owned or controlled by Emporia State University, and on public property within, or immediately adjacent to and accessible from the campus as well as overnight accommodations used during university associated student travel.” 

The statistical table on page 52 provides the numbers for criminal offenses, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) offenses, arrests, and referrals on the ESU Emporia campus. Last year, only one incident of rape and one incident of fondling were reported. As for VAWA offenses, there were zero reports of domestic violence, dating violence, or stalking. In comparison, only one rape was reported in 2021. In 2020, the numbers for domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking were three, one, and one respectively with zero reports of rape or fondling. 

As helpful as the report is, I feel as though it somehow undermines the prevalence of sexual assault and VAWA crimes on campus. Nothing is mentioned about just how much these crimes go unreported on college campuses and the effort needs to be made to express that. The lack of reporting when it comes to sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking is an absolutely crucial piece of the issue. 

Failing to provide even a mention of the dark figure of these crimes perpetuates the narrative that these are not pervasive issues on campus when that is certainly not the case at all. 

The National Sexual Violence Resource Center reports that almost 90 percent of all sexual assaults on college campuses go unreported. Likewise, 28 percent of students on college campuses experience dating violence, and only 38 percent of all domestic violence incidents are reported to police. This leaves about 62 percent of domestic violence incidents unreported, including those that occur on college campuses. As for stalking, 92 percent of college stalking victims will disclose it to a friend or family member, but only 29 percent will reach out to a campus resource for help. 

The data clearly shows that sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking are not often reported to authorities or a trusted campus resource. Just because it isn’t reported doesn’t mean it’s not happening; just because only one rape is reported doesn’t mean it’s the only rape to have taken place.  

Intentional or not, the absence of mentioning this simple fact misconstrues the very dark reality of these issues. It’s absolutely crucial that future reports mention the data on unreported sexual assault, intimate partner violence, and stalking in its content. Giving such a caveat will provide students with the full scope of the issue, not only half of it, and help them to better understand what is happening on their campus by bringing awareness to an all too common occurrence. 

If you want to report sexual assault, stalking, or intimate partner violence, reach out to the Emporia Police Department or campus police. To file a Title IX report, contact the Title IX Coordinator at 620-341-5518. Not sure if you want to report? Counseling services at the Student Wellness Center are a confidential on-campus resource for ESU students. You can also contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788.