A little-discussed student group stands out in a new college sexual assault survey

A recent survey looking at sexual misconduct on college campuses reveals a high level of victimization for one particular demographic - students who identify as neither male nor female, the Yale Daily News reports.

The results come from the Association of American Universities, which surveyed more than 150,000 students at 27 schools. Students identifying outside of the male/female gender binary - "transgender, genderqueer, non-conforming, questioning, and as something not listed on the survey," or TGQN - reported high rates of sexual assault in the AAU survey.

In the AAU survey, TGQN students reported the highest rate of "acts involving penetration by force or incapacitation," which "are considered the most serious types of sexual assault and misconduct."

You can see the higher rates of sexual assault in the TGQN community in the charts below:

The numbers seem to stay higher when just looking at the most recent academic year:

The numbers were even higher when looking at sexual harassment, defined by the AAU as "a series of behaviors that interfered with the victim's academic or professional performances, limited the victim's ability to participate in an academic program, or created an intimidating, hostile or offensive social, academic or work environment."

While 61.9% of female undergraduates and 42.9% of male students reported sexual harassment, more than 75% of TGQN students reported this type of victimization.

Yale students who spoke to the Yale Daily News "pointed to the relatively small 'other gender' community, as well as persistent societal stigmas against it, as possible factors in the group's high victimization rate."

While only about 1.5% of the students surveyed selected a gender category other than male or female, the AAU survey noted that the large number of responses it received "permits estimating rates for this group with adequate statistical precision."

You can read the full AAU survey results here >>