In January 2017, University of Hawaii launched a systemwide biennial survey through which students shared their experiences and perceptions about on- and off-campus sexual misconduct matters.

Results from the first follow-up to that baseline are mixed: Survey responses found increases in incidents in some areas of misconduct, which is concerning; positively, though, upwards of 85% of respondents said they felt little to no risk of sexual harassment or assault across the 10 campuses and were aware of UH resources for students experiencing gender-based violence.

Overall, the Student Campus Climate Survey on Sexual Harassment and Gender-based Violence serves as a much-needed contribution to the statewide conversation guiding UH commitment to addressing misconduct concerns and creating discrimination-free learning and working places for students and faculty.

At the flagship UH-Manoa campus, scrutiny gained momentum about seven years ago when investigators from the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) issued open invitations to meet with students, faculty, staff, administrators and regents to talk privately or in focus groups about sexual harassment and assault.

Subsequently, UH-Manoa landed on a list of 55 campuses nationwide tagged for an OCR probe to ensure compliance with Title IX, which requires schools that receive federal funds to not discriminate on the basis of gender. While sexual harassment and violence are not mentioned in the Civil Rights-era legislation, it’s understood — with backing from court rulings — that schools must address both.

In the OCR’s review of nearly 90 complaints submitted to UH-Manoa from 2010 to 2016, the campus fell short of full compliance with Title IX. However, due to taking corrective steps, it secured a “voluntary resolution agreement” in 2018 that concluded the investigation, although compliance monitoring continued.

To the UH system’s credit, in recent years it has made strides by creating both an Office of Institutional Equity to oversee compliance matters and a Title IX office that receives on-campus complaints. Other improvements range from stepped-up staff training, to development of the statewide campus-climate survey.

More than 6,300 students (about 15.5% of the UH student body) participated in the 2019 survey, marking a slight increase over participation in the initial 2017 survey. Among the findings released last week: The percentage of students who say they have been sexually harassed at any time while enrolled at UH-Manoa increased to 17.2% from 13.1%.

That UH officials anticipated such an uptick due to increased awareness of about sexual misconduct issues is reasonable. The #MeToo movement exploded in fall 2017, several months after the first climate survey was conducted. Across the UH system, 12.7% of students reported being sexually harassed in 2019, up from 9.3%.

While there must be zero-tolerance for any misconduct, UH’s sexual harassment findings are well below that reported in a similarly structured survey of slightly more than 181,750 students at 33 colleges and universities, not including UH schools. In the 2019 Association of American Universities survey, nearly 42% of students reported such harassment.

Moving forward, the UH campus-climate findings will be used to mark to-date progress — gauging prevalence of sexual harassment and gender violence, assessment of campus response, perceptions of campus safety and awareness of policies, processes and programs.

At the core of this ongoing conversation is the issue of respect. Let’s hope this student survey helps the UH system advance constructive efforts toward achieving and maintaining safe and respectful environments, on and off its campuses.