UC Berkeley sees 45% increase in sexual harassment reports in 2025

Mina Lavapies | Staff

Allegations of sexual harassment, stalking and sexual assault have increased at UC Berkeley compared to last year, according to campus’s 2025 Civil Rights Report.

From fiscal year 2024 to fiscal year 2025, sexual harassment reports increased by 45.3%, sexual assault reports by 26.1% and overall sexual violence and sexual harassment, or SVSH, reports by 28.3%. The report notes that this rise in reporting may “reflect” a shift in the number of incidents or a change in awareness or access to reporting.

According to Sharon Inkelas, the faculty advisor to the chancellor on compliance and community, campus believes that SVSH reports have been increasing over the past five years due to “continuing efforts” for support from the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination, or OPHD, and community awareness on reporting resources.

Sally Meeks, co-chair of the ASUC Sexual Violence Commission, noted that an increase in reporting does not necessarily indicate an increase in incidents. She said this may reflect how students are more comfortable reporting rather than there being a rise in cases.

According to the 2025 report, the increase in sexual harassment allegations could be partially attributed to a rise in reports of harassment on the basis of sex and gender. It stated that survey respondents who “self-identified with more degrees of marginalization” reported higher rates of SVSH harm, consistent with findings from the MyVoice Survey and prior PATH to Care data.

Meanwhile, overall reports to OPHD have declined by 20.2%.

The report attributed this decline to a decrease in national origin and ancestry discrimination, as well as harassment reports, which swelled in fiscal year 2024. The 2024 report notes that 70% of all its non-SVSH discrimination and harassment reports were “due to campus activity relating to the conflict in the Middle East.”

In addition to cases of SVSH increasing, the Annual Civil Rights Report demonstrates an increase of UC Berkeley-relevant reports to the systemwide UC Whistleblower Hotline, which is used for “suspected improper governmental activities.” These activities include conflicts of interest, fraud, embezzlement and research misconduct.

In particular, workplace misconduct reports have increased from fiscal year 2024 by 96.8%.

Inkelas noted that the increase in workplace misconduct whistleblower reports has a similarly ambiguous cause.

“It’s genuinely hard to say why one particular category increases or decreases from one year to the next, particularly given that we have only tracked this data for three years,” Inkelas said in an email.

Similar to OPHD, Inkelas added that the whistleblower office continues to increase awareness of the Ethicspoint reporting line and other of the options to address misconduct, leading to “increased reporting.”

In Meeks’ experience, OPHD reporting is a “complicated” process, and navigating it without guidance can be difficult.

Meeks said OPHD primarily functions as a reporting resource, while the Sexual Violence Committee often directs survivors to PATH to Care for confidential support. However, Meeks noted that the end of the 24/7 hotline left limited alternatives for “critical support” outside of formal reporting processes.

In September 2024, campus updated its annual sexual violence and harassment training following the 2024 passing of AB 2683, that started requiring all students to complete annual SVSH training. In the past, the training was only mandatory for new students.

The UC system also ended its contract with external provider Vector Solutions at the end of fiscal year2025 and began developing an internally created program with each university called the UC Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment, Anti-Discrimination, Prevention and Education, or SHAPE, training.

The completion rate for the live training was roughly 100%, while the annual online course assigned to all students was 73%, which Inkelas said is expected to increase throughout the semester. She added that registration holds were used to enforce training completion for incoming students.

Inkelas said in an email that campuswide prevention includes online training, PATH to Care workshops for Registered Student Organization leaders and regular in-person training for athletics and Resident Assistants.

Two full-time employees were added in January 2025 to support OPHD intake and investigations, and a “Civil Rights and Open Expression” page with a training video was added to the OPHD website.

Copyright © 2025 The Daily Californian, The Independent Berkeley Student Publishing Co., Inc.