Exonians Report to Anonymous Sexual Misconduct Survey

“Our Reports. Transparently Told.” This is the headline of the PEA Reports home page, created by alumna Susannah Morrison Curtis ’90, a survivor of sexual assault during her time at Exeter. The website serves as an opportunity for other survivors to share their experiences through an anonymous survey.

The detailed, anonymous survey is comprised of results from sexual misconduct survivors who graduated from the Academy. Charts display responses from more than 60 survivors. Half of the responses are from graduates between 2010 and 2017, and a vast majority come from female survivors.

The charts reveal that the three most prevalent forms of abuse suffered were emotional abuse, sexual assault and sexual harassment. In most of these cases, the alleged abuser was another student at the Academy. However, about 30 percent of survivors surveyed had suffered abuse from a faculty member.

While 54 percent of survivors said they did not report their cases to Academy officials, out of those that did, over half of survey respondents said that they were not taken seriously. None of the respondents took legal action.

The final questions asks, “How are you doing today?” The most chosen response, selected by a third of the respondents, says, “I get triggered often in my real life and by the news coming out of PEA.”

Recent results from The Exonian’s annual State of the Academy survey show that sexual misconduct still remains a problem on campus. Out of 507 total respondents, 27 percent of students answered that they have experienced a form of sexual harassment on campus, while 10 percent said they have been sexually assaulted. A third of Exonians believe they know someone on campus who is in an unhealthy or abusive romantic or sexual relationship. The mistrust towards Academy officials demonstrated in the results of PEA Report’s survey was again reflected in the results of the State of the Academy survey; only a little over half of Exonians said they had an adult on campus whom they would feel comfortable speaking to about a sexual assault.

Historically, other studies have also attempted to evaluate Academy life. “The Exeter Study,” linked on the