Responses to a survey conducted by the Association of American Universities indicate that one out of four women have been sexually assaulted during their four years of college. That is about 27.2 percent of the female population. Nearly half of these women, about 13.5 percent, had never experienced any sexual interaction before their assault on campus. But even in the most serious cases of assault involving penetration, practically three-fourths of the victims did not report what happened to them. They felt as if the assault they experienced wasn’t serious enough to report or they were too ashamed.

Zoe Ridolfi-Starr, deputy director of Know Your IX, an advocacy group that fights sexual assault, commented on the issue after the survey was taken.

“This survey is significant confirmation of a major problem, and it confirms what we’ve been saying about the mind-set on campus and the reception survivors expect to encounter.”

Women aren’t the only victims, either — although the men’s survey results are recorded to be much lower (at 8.6 percent of the college male population assaulted), it is still significant. Of that 8.6 percent, 2.9 percent had not previously experienced sexual interactions. In addition, transgender students and those who identify as neither male nor female have the highest rates of sexual assault.

Hundreds of thousands of college students are experiencing crimes of sexual violence yearly.

“How many surveys will it take before we act with the urgency these crimes demand,” Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrat of New York, asked after praising the AAU’s study. Gillibrand went on to  press for faster action from Congress, who has yet to push colleges into improving the handling of sexual assault on campus. Right now, Congress is considering legislation and President Obama has named a White House task force to prevent and end sexual assault across college campuses.