The Title IX Office received 494 complaints during the 2024-25 reporting period, the highest recorded number since GW began publishing annual reports in 2022.

The complaints, which span eight categories, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, dating and domestic violence, retaliation and pregnancy-related conditions, totaled 494 in 2024-25 — a 21-percent increase from 408 complaints the previous year and the highest number reported since the office began publishing reports in 2022. Reports of sexual assault alone rose 20 percent, and sexual harassment increased 29 percent, both reaching their highest levels since at least 2022.

A University spokesperson said greater awareness of campus resources and heightened confidence in the reporting process may have contributed to the overall rise in reports, which does not necessarily reflect an increase in incidents.

In 2024, the Title IX Office launched a peer adviser program in collaboration with the Student Government Association to expand resources for students navigating the Title IX complaint process. The report states the office also worked with student organizations during the last academic year to plan programming and awareness campaigns about the reporting process and Title IX Office.

“Expanded prevention and education efforts, as well as strengthened partnerships with student organizations, helped more community members understand how and when to seek support,” the spokesperson said in an email.

Title IX officials began releasing an annual report in 2022 in an effort to provide “greater transparency” about the Title IX Office and make the process more accessible to the GW community, according to the office’s website.

Designated reporters, as in every year, marked the largest group of those reporting violations to the Title IX office and also the group with the greatest increase in reports year-over-year. Reports from designated reporters — including faculty and some staff members, who are legally required to report suspected or alleged instances of sexual harassment — rose 24 percent, from 262 reports in 2023-24 to 325 this year. 

The Title IX Office also revamped its required training module for faculty and staff last year, according to the report, switching from a third-party module to one created by the office to train faculty and staff on their duties. Title IX officials designed the new training to better explain designated reporter responsibilities and provide faculty and staff with tools to “compassionately respond” to reports, according to the office’s report.

A University spokesperson said the rise in reports was in part due to increased engagement from designated reporters and the new faculty and staff training module, which clarified reporter responsibilities.

“The training did not cause more incidents, but it did help ensure concerns were properly routed to the office,” the spokesperson said.

Reports of sexual harassment rose from 273 to 352 in 2024-25 — the largest spike across all categories. Sexual assault reports rose from 95 to 114, instances of stalking increased from 91 to 97 and domestic violence reports increased from 20 to 26, according to the report.

Other types of complaints saw slight declines, like dating violence which dropped by about 22 percent — from 31 reports in 2023-24 to 24 this reporting period — and pregnancy, which dropped from 19 reports last year to 15 this year.

The Title IX Office also released the findings of its Sexual Harassment Climate Survey Report it began collecting last year from 6,000 randomly sampled GW students across undergraduate and graduate schools. In the survey, which had a response rate of 11.7 percent, 25 percent of students said they did not understand the University’s Title IX procedures, and 22 percent said they did not have faith in them, with about 20 percent saying they were neutral in both categories. 

The University spokesperson said the findings from the survey indicate students lack “full understanding or confidence” in GW’s Title IX procedures, which the office is addressing through expanded student-centered outreach and communication.

“The Title IX Office will continue to implement the survey’s recommendations—including increasing visibility of off-campus resources and enhancing prevention programming—throughout the coming academic year,” the spokesperson said.

The office also recorded its highest number of reopened reports since 2022 — cases where students return for additional support for incidents they reported in a prior semester — rising to 60 this year from 53 last reporting period. The 2023-24 report similarly showed a 51-percent increase in reopened cases compared to 2022-23, which Title IX Office Director Asha Reynolds said at the time showed the University’s commitment to ensuring support continues through an individual’s time at GW. 

The University spokesperson said the increase in reopened reports this year shows people feel comfortable returning to the office for additional support as their needs evolve.

The report states that the office only formally resolved 10 cases with an investigative or negotiated resolution because many complainants either did not respond to outreach or chose to receive supportive measures only. About 33 percent of reports ended with no response from the complainant, while 30 percent resolved as supportive measures only.

Only cases where the respondent’s identity is known can proceed to formal resolution, according to the report, and 226 respondents — or about 46 percent — could not be identified this year because reports contained insufficient information for investigators to proceed.

27 percent of incidents occurred on campus outside of a residence hall, 18 percent on campus inside a residence hall, 23 percent off campus and 11 percent online, with another 21 percent of reports occurring in an unknown location, according to the report. On-campus, non-residential reports and off-campus reports comprise the bulk of the increase in total reports, with on-campus, non-residential reports rising from 109 to 134 and off-campus reports rising from 83 to 116.

The report also states the Title IX Office is “closely monitoring” federal Title IX regulatory changes since the Department of Education released new Title IX guidelines in April 2024, which made several changes including expanding sex discrimination protections to include sexual orientation, gender identity and pregnancy or parenting. The guidelines, an effort by former President Joe Biden’s administration to expand protections for LGBTQ+ individuals, also required broader definitions of harassment and lowered the threshold to begin investigations.

A federal court injunction in July 2024 applying to 700 schools including GW blocked those regulations from being implemented at their respective universities, after a judge ruled they were too broadly worded and risked punishing students for exercising their free speech rights. A federal district court issued a final decision in January officially overturning the new rules. The report states that GW will maintain the previous federal Title IX policies put in place in 2020 — the most recent valid requirements from the Department of Education.

The office’s report also states that although reports increased this year, there are still likely issues of underreporting with the office, as students feel their incident was not serious enough to warrant a complaint. The report states the office plans to continue its education efforts to ensure students report all instances of Title IX violations to the office.

“Underreporting by complainants remains a national trend, and the office is committed to addressing it through continued education, improved resource awareness and clearer guidance on how to seek help,” the University spokesperson said.