Rape on campus: 3 rape reports in 5 days at UNC

By Sarah Krueger

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    CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (WRAL) — In the last five days, three rapes have been reported on the campus of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The incidents themselves occurred on varying dates over the last 12 months.

Looking through the UNC Police crime log, WRAL News found 13 reported incidents that were sexual in nature so far this semester.

The crimes range from peeping Tom, to sexual assault, to rape.

Of the 13 incidents this semester, 11 are listed to have occurred at residence halls.

Safety was already top of mind after a student was followed into his dorm late last month and sexually assaulted.

His mother has been outspoken and plans to meet virtually with other UNC parents this week to call for change. According to UNC’s Annual Report, there were:

19 rapes on campus in 2021 14 in 2020 20 in 2019

“I guess it doesn’t necessarily surprise me, but it’s still not a good number to hear,” said Helen Denhert, a freshman who was unaware of the recent incidents.

She says UNC will sometimes send out crime alerts but not often. “I think there’s definitely a bit of a problem on this campus,” said sophomore Maggie Wittman, who says she’d like UNC to send out more alerts to keep students informed of the incidents. “I personally did not know about the rapes or sexual assaults that go on. They don’t really report it to us. So I think that’s a problem in and of itself, because we don’t really know the extent that goes on.”

According to the crime log, there have been no arrests in any of the 13 incidents. In some cases, survivors did not seek criminal charges.

By email, a spokesperson told us she could not share any more details about the incidents, adding: “These types of incidents are not unique to UNC-Chapel Hill or to college campuses in general. UNC-Chapel Hill’s top priority is the safety of its students, faculty and staff and we take each report seriously.”

If a person or someone they know has experienced sexual violence, there are support and reporting resources available at the University and in the Chapel Hill community.

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