Rutgers on Top 10 list of U.S. colleges for reported rapes … but is that bad?

NEW BRUNSWICK — Rutgers University is among the universities with the most reported rapes on their campuses, according to a Washington Post review of federal data.

But placing on this Top 10 list may not necessarily be cause for alarm.

That's because experts the Post spoke to say more and more students in recent years have been stepping forward to report sexual assaults that previously would have gone unreported.

The data shows 32 rapes were reported at Rutgers' main campus in New Brunswick in 2014. The school with the most reported rapes that year was Brown University, with 43.

When looking at the rate of reported rapes, however, Rutgers ranks much lower — just 0.7 reported rapes for every 1,000 students, according to the Post's analysis.

The analysis looked at data for more than 1,300 schools with at least 1,000 students. It found 99 schools with at least 10 reports of rape that year and 502 schools with none at all.

In 2014, a Rutgers University survey of undergraduate students found that 1 in 4 said they were victims of sexual violence. The survey defined "sexual violence" broadly, including comments about physical appearance as well as rape.

The survey also found that "only about 7 percent of undergraduate women who experienced sexual violence disclosed the incident to Rutgers staff."

Last year, the university launched a campaign to raise awareness on campus about sexual assault, which included a website detailing services available to victims on campus.

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