Presidents’ Circle on the University of Utah campus in Salt Lake City is pictured on Saturday, Aug. 23, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
This story discusses sexual violence. If you need help, you can access resources through the University of Utah’s website or by calling the 24-hour rape recovery center crisis line at 801-736-4356. If you’re in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
The University of Utah’s annual campus safety report shows staggering on-campus rape statistics for a second year in a row. However, like last year’s survey, most of the allegations were reported during a single interview with a survivor.
The state’s flagship school accounted for 146 rape cases in 2024, with a former student reporting 110 incidents by a single partner during a “multiple-month relationship plagued by interpersonal violence,” according to a news release from the U.
“Because each is a distinct action, then each counts individually, so that we counted the full 110 which is what the survivor stated that they had,” said Todd Justesen, director of the U’s Clery program, a federally required initiative to disclose campus crime data.
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According to the report released on Friday, the survivor didn’t wish to move the case forward, and both people in the relationship have graduated.
This year’s count nearly rivals the university’s 2023 report, which counted 175 rape cases. That year, a single victim also reported being raped 150 times by their intimate partner at the Salt Lake City campus. Both numbers are substantially higher than the 30 cases reported in 2022.
Chris Linder, a professor and chair of the Department of Educational Leadership at the university, said that while the numbers may be alarming, they can also help other victims of interpersonal violence to report sexual assault from intimate partners.
“But many survivors do not come forward and report it as sexual assault, because our culture has constructed the idea of sexual assault as a stranger jumping out of the bushes and snatching us,” Linder said.
The university doesn’t have exact statistics of accountability in these cases, but a university spokesperson said the school will refer students to different offices depending on whether they’d like to press criminal charges or student discipline, like expelling or suspension while the investigation takes place.
The report also shows a significant increase in fondling, or inappropriate touching of the groin, buttocks or breasts, including during medical examinations, Justesen said. Fondling instances grew from 55 in 2023 to 83 last year. That included 51 cases at the U of U Health Hospitals and Clinics.
All reports are counted whether or not the allegation was substantiated and someone was found accountable, Justesen added.
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The report also showed an increase in other forms of violence. Cases of aggravated assault, which includes any attack to inflict severe bodily injury, tripled from seven in 2023 to 21 last year. That included 14 in health care settings.
The U. also released the results of a campus climate survey on Friday, which aims to understand trends, patterns and needs among students with a focus on sexual harassment and misconduct. The report shows high confidence in bystander intervention during emergencies and a strong understanding of consent in sexual encounters.
University officials saw a silver lining in those results.
“As we compare our rates to national benchmarks across almost all categories, we’re seeing lower rates of incidents reported for our students,” said Lori McDonald, vice president for student affairs at the university, “the exception to that being among intimate partner violence, which helps us, again as a campus, know that we should continue investing and building on those resources.
The university offers a range of educational programs and events throughout the academic year to better understand healthy relationships and how to intervene in potentially harmful situations, McDonald said.
There’s a peer wellbeing navigation program available for students, as well as sexual violence resources. Anyone needing help is encouraged to call the 24-hour rape recovery center crisis line at 801-736-4356.