LAWRENCE, Kan. — The University of Kansas received nearly twice as many sexual assault complaints in 2014 than the year before, likely because of increased awareness after public criticism of the school’s handling of rape allegations, a school official said.
The school’s Office of Institutional Opportunity and Access received 169 complaints last year, compared with 85 in 2013, Executive Director Jane McQueeny said last week during a presentation to the university’s Sexual Assault Task Force, The Lawrence Journal-World reported.
McQueeny said 120 of last year’s complaints were filed under Title IX, a federal law that requires campuses to provide education in an atmosphere free of sexual violence and domestic violence.
She estimated that half of the complaints came in after September, when students and faculty protested against the university’s handling of alleged rape complaints.
“That dialogue on campus really did help encourage reporting,” McQueeny said.
Twenty-eight of the complaints remain open, and five new complaints have been filed so far this year.
The complaints filed under Title IX overwhelmingly involve women filing against men, with a few involving faculty but most students complaining against other students. A majority involved students who live in residence halls but who were allegedly assaulted off-campus, she said.
