AAUW Dialog

Sexual Assault Awareness Ribbon

Violence against women, specifically sexual assault, continues to be a serious problem on college and university campuses. As we embark on Sexual Assault Awareness Month, it is essential for colleges and universities to provide educational programming for students and ensure they have visible resources and support on campus.

As a sexual assault peer educator at the University of California, Irvine during my final year in college, I saw firsthand the importance of educating the campus community. I still vividly recall how empowering it was when I shared my story with friends as well as complete strangers at the Speak Out at Take Back the Night. I will never forget that moment as well as the incredible support I received for being brave enough to articulate my experience with sexual assault. These types of programs on campus can truly transcend communities and provide survivors with an avenue to openly express their feelings and sentiments.

I have continued to engage in sexual assault prevention work as a graduate student at George Washington University and most recently gained some additional resources from the ACPA Conference in Boston. The ACPA conference offered me as a graduating master’s student conducting my professional job search within the functional area of women’s issues and sexual assault prevention programming invaluable insight from administrators and researchers in the field of higher education.

The most influential and eye-opening session I attended was Responding to Campus Sexual Assault: Ten Critical Practices, which was presented by Scott Lewis and Saunie Schuster from the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management (NCHERM). The five do’s regarding sexual assault on campus that they spoke about are

1. View campus violence through a civil rights lens
2. View campus sexual violence as both a crime and a policy violation, and know what to do when criminal and campus proceedings converge
3. Understand the philosophical, legal, and practical implications of working with reluctant victims
4. Investigate all complaints. NO EXCEPTIONS.
5. Clarify how your campus distinguishes sexual assault from sexual harassment, both in policy and procedures

All the resources from their session can be found on the NCHERM website.

I also attended a session entitled The Men’s and Women’s Programs: Ending Rape through Peer Education, which was hosted by John D. Foubert from Oklahoma State University. His research found that effective educational programming involves single-sex peer education programs, empathy-based interventions, and workshops that highlight bystander approaches. In his new book, Foubert provides college administrators and faculty members with skills, resources, and templates to create effective sexual assault prevention and education programs on campus.

Take the time to recognize the importance of sexual assault prevention programming on your local campuses. Look out for AAUW’s upcoming Campus Sexual Assault Prevention Program in a Box, which will provide you with resources for planning programs on your campus. In the meantime, please visit our website for more information on campus sexual assault.