A public health crisis is plaguing universities across the nation and ECU is no stranger. Sexual assault is becoming more and more common in colleges.

Approximately 25 percent of college women and 15 percent of college men are victims of forced sex during their time in college. One in five women in college have been a victim of sexual assault. What is perhaps even more startling is that approximately 90 percent of sexual assaults go unreported.

ECU tries to fight back against these numbers with upholding Title IX, campus organizations such as Pledge Purple, and ECU cares. While some effort is there, the question is how effective the university is in sexual assault cases.

WNCT news reporter Josh Birch also did a similar investigation in which they went to ECU officials to find out how these cases are handled when reported. Virginia Hardy, ECU's Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, said they treat each case separately. They must find a preponderance of evidence with each case to move it forward in the investigation process.

The complaints brought forward are filed under Title IX, which covers a wide array of subjects including sexual violence and harassment.

Even though March 2014 until March 2016, more than 110 Title IX complaints were filed at East Carolina University alone, only 23 of them led to formal investigations. Of the 23 cases formally investigated by ECU, 12 resulted in charges being brought forward, with 11 students eventually found responsible for Title IX violations. Hardy said the reasons why a case wouldn't move forward vary, from not enough evidence to students not wishing to pursue them further. She said the system must be fair to all those involved.

A male East Carolina Student started sexual assault advocacy groups in his home town in North Carolina. This is a topic that he is passionate about and "finds disgust in sexual abusers."

He commented on the allegation that ECU does not do enough for their victims, "I know an individual who was a victim of sexual assault. I found that the school was very helpful in getting them the counseling that they needed as well as working with them to manage and balance their academic schedule during this traumatic period."

Not all cases are as lucky as this male's friend.

With 47 percent of cases with responsibility found, as shown in the figure above. People start to worry if the low percentage of responsibility found in these cases deter other victims of coming forward.

A female East Carolina student has had her own run-ins with sexual assault. Yet, her like many other left the cases unreported. When a woman comes out as a victim of sexual assault people view her differently especially with all the recent media attention surrounding the topic.

Female said "People do not take the time to understand why women do not come out and they also do not understand why women choose to remain in abusive relationships. Judgment is at an all-time high which is exactly why women, and ESPECIALLY men, do not come out about these things."

Sadly, many victims are scared of the judgment Vincent talks about. This influences them to keep the assault to themselves letting abusers walk the campus.

*I've chosen to leave my interviewee's identity anonymous to protect their privacy.*