Surveys taken in 2009–12 of all Princeton undergraduates revealed that one in eight reported experiencing sexual assault, dating violence, or stalking in a 12-month period, according to University spokesman Martin Mbugua. A widely cited survey by the U.S. Department of Justice, based on 2006 data, found that about one in five women are victims of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault while in college.
The issue drew attention because of a March 3 story in The Daily Princetonian, which reported on an unpublished 2008 campus survey that found one in six female undergraduates said they had experienced one of several types of sexual assault. The University did not analyze or compile that data as a report, but did publicize the one-in-eight figure from the more recent report to freshmen at orientation events, Mbugua said.
More than 900 students had signed a petition as of March 12 that asked the University to conduct a new survey on sexual assault and to provide an official statement on the 2008 survey.