In 2015, I photographed a series of victims of sexual violence for a Washington Post project about sexual violence on college campuses. Twenty percent of young women who attended college during the past four years say they were sexually assaulted. Many others endured attempted attacks, or suspect that someone violated them while they were unable to consent. Some say they were coerced into sex through verbal threats or promises.
The Washington Post and the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation teamed up to poll more than 1,000 people nationwide who have attended college within the past four years about sexual assault and campus culture. Post reporters then interviewed more than 50 women and men who responded that they had experienced unwanted sexual contact — or attempted or suspected sexual contact — while they were students. The series looks at the prevalence of sexual assault among college students and the factors that play a role in those assaults. In all, the poll found, 25 percent of young women and 7 percent of young men say they suffered unwanted sexual incidents in college.
