Almost half of Alberta's post-secondary students were victims of sexual- or gender-based violence over the past year, according to a survey commissioned by the provincial government.

“Historically, what we know about sexual assault is that the 15- to 24-year-old demographic is one of the hardest-hit demographics when it comes to sexual assault in our society,” said Kristine Cassie, CEO of the Chinook Sexual Assault Centre.

Sexual harassment was the most commonly cited act with 45 per cent of respondents saying they’ve experienced it.

The next most common were stalking and sexual assault with 17 and 11 per cent, respectively.