Universities Struggle to Address Sexual Violence on Campus

Last year, 55 higher education institutions, including the University of Chicago, were placed under investigation by the Department of Education for their failures to address sexual violence and harassment claims. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, it is estimated that 20 to 25 percent of women will be a victim of rape or attempted rape during their college career. Under Title IX in the Civil Rights Act of 1964, any institution that receives federal funding is prohibited to discriminate students on the basis of sex. The failure to respond appropriately to sexual assault and harassment claims that disproportionately affect women put many higher education institutions in violation of Title IX.

Part of the failure of higher education institutions is a lack of preventative measures, making students more vulnerable to sexual violence. According to a CDC report issued in April of 2014, only two programs show success in preventing sexual violence: Safe Dates and Shifting Boundaries. Only Safe Dates was tested on students older than middle school. In a randomized control trial using 8^th and 9^th graders in rural North Carolina, the Safe Dates program showed statistically significant evidence that it reduced overall sexual violence. Though successful, the study has yet to be replicated with college students and many colleges would lack the resources necessary for an extensive program like Safe Dates.

Colleges are also failing to respond appropriately to sexual violence allegations and convictions. On July 9, the Subcommittee on Financial and Contracting Oversight published the results of a national survey on 440 four-year institutions evaluating if they responded appropriately to victims of sexual violence in accordance with federal guidelines. The report found that campuses were completely unaware of the rate of sexual assault at their institution. Many instances went unreported and some reported cases went uninvestigated. Often, staff and law enforcement were not trained to deal with sexual assault. The judicial process for perpetrators failed to meet federal standards, often leading to trials that favor the defendant, and universities did not do enough to protect the rights of victims of sexual violence.

Campuses around the country are reforming their sexual violence policies to identify their campus climate, prevent future incidents, and protect victims, but the research on effectiveness is still in early stages. Reforming policy to align with federal guidelines is essential but so is prevention. While the Department of Education investigates whether or not campuses responded appropriately to victims of sexual assault, the other violation may be that universities failed to protect their students from sexual violence by developing and testing effective preventative programs.

Our sister publication at The University of Chicago, The Maroon, extensively covered sexual violence on campus.

Featured Photo: cc/(Wolfram Burner)