Rhodes College saw the number of sex offenses reported on campus more than double in 2018, according to figures provided in its annual Clery crime statistics report, released Tuesday, Oct. 1.
Rhodes reported 9 forcible sex offenses in 2018 – an increase of 125% from the 4 cases reported in 2017.
Despite the significant uptick in sex offense reports, which includes two categories of rape and forcible fondling, the new figures show a significant drop since 2014.
In 2017, Rhodes reported 4 forcible sex offenses on campus compared to 19 in 2016, 22 in 2015 and 17 the year before that.
In 2018, Rhodes Title IX coordinator Tiffany Cox attributed the higher numbers in 2015 and 2016 to a multi-year student-led effort around sexual assault awareness.
“I think that was the beginning of that process, so we did have more students come forward at that point in time to report what they were experiencing,” Cox said.
However, the 2017 and 2018 sex offense numbers are similar to what the school reported in the years before that student-led effort: 4 in 2011; 3 in 2012; and 6 in 2013.
Also noteworthy among statistics are the multiple discrepancies between the report and the campus safety crime log. For example, the report shows 3 incidents of dating violence and 2 stalkings in 2016; however, the crime log shows 0 for dating violence and 3 for stalkings. The 2017 crime log shows 3 incidents of sexual offenses, which is one less than the report shows. Additionally, the report says that in 2018 there were 3 incidents of dating violence and 4 stalkings; however, crime logs show 0 reports for both crimes.
According to the U.S. Department of Education’s handbook for campus safety and security reporting, the purpose of the daily crime log is to record all criminal incidents and alleged criminal incidents that are reported to the campus police or security department.
The log is designed to provide crime information on a more timely basis than the annual statistical disclosures. A crime must be entered into the log within two business days of when it was reported to the campus police or security department.
On Sep. 12, campus safety took down archived logs dating back to 2015 from its website. A message at the top of the site read: “We are in the process of reformatting the daily crime log per guidance from the department of education. Improvements to readability will be forthcoming in the next few days.”
According to the Clery Act Compliance Division website, the U.S. Department of Education conducts reviews to evaluate an institution’s compliance with the Clery Act requirements. A review may be initiated when a complaint is received, a media event raises certain concerns, or when the school’s independent audit identifies serious non-compliance.
Reviews and audits may result in fine actions taken by the Department against an institution for violations of the Clery Act.