Uprooting Sexual Violence in Higher Education

A Guide for Practitioners and Faculty

Amy Murphy, Brian Van Brunt

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781317336495
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

With national conversation turned toward sexual assault on college campuses, knowing how to identify, prevent, and address these incidents in a safe, and productive way is essential for administrators and faculty. Uprooting Sexual Violence in Higher Education provides colleges and universities with a foundational understanding of twelve risk factors related to sexual assault, stalking, and intimate partner violence. By presenting a blend of theory, research, and the personal reflections of professionals 'on the front lines,' this book provides insights into the motivations, attitudes, and behaviors behind sexual assault on campus, as well as strategies for mitigating these risk factors in an effort to tailor prevention efforts. Whether you are seeking a way to navigate the recent regulations on sexual violence from the federal government or merely wish to safeguard the welfare of students on your campus, this book will provide the neccesary, and invaluable foundation you need to empower, respect, and support all students.

Part I

Introduction

Chapter 1

Violence Against Women Act

Long after cutting down an unwanted tree and modifying your landscape, the tree roots can stay alive beneath the soil surface, sending suckers into unwanted garden areas. In order to prevent the tree suckers, you must first kill the tree’s root system. After killing the root system, the roots begin to decompose in the soil, making it easier to dig and maintain flower beds in the surrounding area.

—Amelia Allonsy, How to Kill a Tree Root System

Key Take-Aways

1. Title IX requires that colleges and universities work to prevent and eliminate hostile environments resulting from gender-based harassment and remedy the impact of harm to individuals and the community through education, prevention, and accountability initiatives.
2. The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 modified the Clery Act to require college and universities to implement strategies for students and employees related to the prevention of sexual assault, stalking, dating violence, and domestic violence.
3. Primary prevention requires the identification of root factors related to sexual violence and initiatives targeted toward associated attitudes and behaviors.

In the past few years, colleges and institutions have seen a rapid and intense focus on how to prevent sexual assault and violence on our campuses. It is important to recognize that counselors and psychologists, student conduct officers, health educators, and sexual assault advocates have long been working to reduce these problems on campus and serve those who struggle with the burden of recovery. Discussions of consent, the dangers of high-risk drinking, and negative attitudes toward women have been areas of attention and emphasis for many frontline staff and administrators.

Following the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act, increased federal and cultural attention has served as a springboard to bring these concerns to the forefront of higher education discussions. Schools panicked as they watched a number of their procedures and practices come under the microscope of OCR and the court of public opinion. Administrators redoubled efforts focused on prevention and looked to improve existing investigation processes for Title IX offenses.

The benefit of this increased attention has been a national investment in the intense review and development of better systems of awareness, education, and investigation of sexual assault on college campuses. As schools rush to comply with the educational requirements of VAWA and find ways to reduce sexual violence on their campuses, it would be reasonable to pause and better understand the contributing factors to this violence on our campuses. Before beginning on that journey, we wanted to take an opportunity to explain the impetus for the recent attention on these issues and build a foundation as we look to explore the root causes of this violence.

What Is the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)?

The Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (34 CFR § 668.46 [VAWA]) outlines obligations for colleges and universities in regard to the prevention of sexual violence through modification of the requirements of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA) and the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (20 USC x 1092(f) [Clery Act]).

The major provisions of the new VAWA regulations include:

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  increased reporting requirements related to incidents of dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
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  procedural requirements for responding to incidents of sexual violence; and
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  prevention programming for students and employees.

A section of VAWA called the Campus Sexual Violence Elimination Act (Campus SaVE Act) modified the Clery Act. The Clery Act, adopted in 1990, requires that colleges and universities collect and report crimes that occur on or adjacent to campus and disseminate an annual security report each October, as well as other requirements related to notifying the campus community of threats to the campus. Since its inception, the Clery Act required the collection of crime statistics, including rape, fondling, incest, and statutory rape. VAWA expanded the requirements for Clery crime reporting to include domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. In addition, it added gender identity to the category of types of prejudice that can be reported as hate crimes. The annual security report requirements were further modified to require that institutions report on how they provide prevention programming for students and employees annually. Violations of the Clery and VAWA provisions can be penalized by fines of $35,000 per violation.

What Are the Prevention Programming Requirements Under VAWA for College and Universities?

VAWA requires the development of primary prevention and awareness programs for incoming students and new employees and ongoing prevention and awareness campaigns for all students and employees to stop domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking. VAWA also outlines requirements for the programs to include statements of prohibition, definitions of “consent” in reference to sexual activity, other definitions based on local jurisdiction, descriptions of options for bystander intervention, information on risk reduction, and policies and procedures following an incident of sexual violence. Institutions must include program descriptions to meet this mandate in the Clery Annual Security Report, beginning with the reports published October 1, 2014.

While VAWA provides some definition and discussion around the types of programs and initiatives for institutions to implement, it was noted during the final rule making that research on effective prevention of sexual violence is limited. Schools are directed broadly that these efforts should be

comprehensive, intentional, and integrated programming, initiatives, strategies, and campaigns intended to end dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking that are culturally relevant, inclusive of diverse communities and identities, sustainable, responsive to community needs, and informed by research or assessed for value, effectiveness, or outcome.

(668.46(a))

VAWA specifically mentions an ecological model and prevention approach that considers environmental risk and protective factors for individuals, relationships, institutions, communities, and society, and identifies goals of decreasing perpetration and bystander inaction. We discuss prevention models in detail in chapter 3.

VAWA also outlines that prevention programs, initiatives, and strategies should include the following elements:

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  Statement that the institution prohibits domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking;
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  Definitions of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking in the applicable jurisdiction;
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  Definition of consent with regard to sexual activity, in the applicable jurisdiction;
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  Safe and positive options for bystander intervention that may be carried out by an individual to prevent harm or intervene when there is a risk of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking against a person other than such individual;
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  Information on risk reduction to recognize warning signs of abusive behavior and how to avoid potential attacks;
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  Possible sanctions and protective measures after a final determination regarding rape, acquaintance rape, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking;
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  Procedures for victims after a sex offense, including preservations of evidence, resources for protection orders, reporting options, options regarding notifying police and campus authorities, and rights of victims;
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  Resources available to students such as counseling, health, victim advocacy, legal assistance, and other services, on campus and in the community;
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  Options for remedies related to academics, living, transportation, and work, regardless of willingness to report;
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  Confidentiality options and processes;
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  Information on the prevention of retaliation.

It is our hope that this text will provide a tool for institutions to outline strategies to meet the VAWA mandates and, more importantly, to identify root factors of sexual violence and bystander attitudes in the college community.

Why Is Understanding Risk Factors for Sexual Assault, Stalking, and IPV Important?

As a tool for the primary prevention of sexual violence, this text offers specific root factors associated with perpetration and promotes the development of healthy attitudes and behaviors for campus communities. VAWA requires the use of risk reduction in prevention programming. Risk reduction includes programming and options designed “to decrease perpetration and bystander inaction, and to increase empowerment for victims in order to promote safety and to help individuals and communities address conditions that facilitate violence” (34 CFR § 668.46(j)(2)(v)).

The root factors provide a framework for staff to use for early alert and intervention with individuals who demonstrate high-risk behaviors. In addition, each factor can be used educationally to empower community members with information to recognize and respond to high-risk attitudes and behaviors of concern. For staff working with organizations or other institutional groups, the root factors can be helpful in identifying organizations that are sustaining environments that condone and encourage attitudes supportive of sexual violence or educationally for leaders in those organizations.

Terms and Definitions

The prevention of sexual violence begins with continued conversations among college administrators, faculty, and students about sexual violence on the college campus. Open and engaging dialogue cannot occur with strict and formal rules related to terminology and language. With that, ahead we provide what we mean by some of the terms used throughout the book, but we also recognize that definitions vary from campus to campus. We want to be respectful to those who have experienced violence, and we want to create an environment where communication about these issues is encouraged.

Sometimes when we argue as a community about terminology, we only discourage the conversation. With that, it is important to recognize that if a person does not recognize behavior as sexual violence, it is problematic to prevention and accountability efforts, so definitions and terms are critical especially in policy and prevention programs. For the purposes of our book, we will use these terms and definitions—use what is appropriate for your campus, but mainly just keep the conversation going.

Sexual violence: The American College Health Association describes sexual violence as “a continuum of behaviors instead of an isolated, deviant act” (2008). We consider this a comprehensive term that includes all acts of unwelcome sexual touching, intercourse, and harassment. The continuum is used as a descriptor that accounts for the social norms and belief systems as the foundation on which other sexual violence is built.

Intimate partner violence (IPV): a term inclusive of dating violence and domestic violence that is committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of an intimate nature with the victim.

Dating violence: violence committed by a person who is or has been in a social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature with the victim; and where the existence of such a relationship shall be determined based on a consideration of the following factors: length of the relationship, type of relationship, and frequency of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.

Domestic violence: felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committ...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Part I Introduction
• Part II Risk Factors
• Part III Conclusion
• Afterword
• References
• Index