Editor’s Note: This story includes mention of sexual assault. Resources are available here.
Two separate reports of sexual assault at Eigenmann Hall were reported in March. One was reported March 28 and the other March 30.
IUPD Public Information Officer Hannah Skibba said in an email that IUPD received a report from the Title IX Office regarding a student who had been sexually assaulted March 23 at Eigenmann Hall. The student involved did not report the incident themselves to IUPD.
The case has been referred to university officials for review.
On March 30, IUPD officers picked up a sexual assault evidence kit from IU Health Bloomington Hospital to store at IUPD, Skibba said in an email. The student it occurred at Eigenmann Hall on March 30. The victim has not filed a police report and told police they do not wish to pursue criminal charges at this time.
According to IUPD’s crime log, there have been six sexual batteries and five rapes reported on campus since Feb 6.
According to IU’s 2023 Security and Public Safety Report, there were 38 rapes reported on IU-Bloomington’s campus and five rapes reported off campus in 2022. Off-campus cases include incidents that occurred at any building or property owned or controlled by a student organization, buildings owned or controlled by an institution directly supporting IU’s educational purposes and properties frequently used by students not within the geographic area of the institution. Off-campus incidents also include incidents occurring on public property within or immediately adjacent to campus.
In the same year, there were 35 cases of fondling, defined as the unconsensual touching of private body parts of another person for the purpose of sexual gratification, reported on Bloomington’s campus, with an additional two occurring off campus.
These numbers are all increases from previous years. In 2021, there were a combined 31 cases of rape and 21 cases of fondling on and off campus. In 2020, there were 25 reports of rape and seven reports of fondling, although on-campus instruction paused mid-March that year due to the pandemic and did not resume until the fall.
These numbers are most likely the minimum number of cases, as more than 90% of sexual assault victims on college campuses do not report their assaults, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. This is due to fear, shame, uncertainty, guilt and avoidance, according to Jackson Health System.
A list of resources is available here if you or someone you know has experienced sexual harassment or abuse.
