ACTION STEPS FOR CAMPUS ADMINISTRATORS You’re committed to fostering a healthy, productive learning environment for your students. Sadly, sexual violence on campus negatively impacts many students. In fact, one in fuve women will be a victim of completed or attempted sexual assault while in college (Krebs, Lindquist, Warner, Fisher, & Martin, 2007).One in 16 college males have been victims of an attempted or completed assault (Krebs et al., 2007), and research shows male college students are less likely to report an assault (Banyard et al., 2007). This tip sheet offers concrete ways in which you can support your college or university in preventing sexual violence. WHAT IS SEXUAL VIOLENCE? Sexual violence occurs when someone is forced or coerced into unwanted sexual activity without agreeing or consenting. Reasons someone might not be able to consent include: • Fear • Being underage • Having an illness or disability • Incapacitation due to alcohol or other drugs It is important to note that consent can initially be given and later be withdrawn. A number of different acts fall into the category of sexual violence, including forced intercourse, sexual contact or touching, sexual exploitation, and exposure or voyeurism. Sexual violence can be committed by school employees, fellow students, students from other schools, or others. For the purposes of Title IX, sexual violence falls under the definition of “sexual harassment.”* Sexual violence is never the victim’s fault. It does not matter what the victim is wearing or doing, whether the victim has been drinking, or what type of relationship the victim has with the person who is sexually abusing them. TAKE ACTION MOBILIZE • Collaboration across campus is critical for sustainable prevention efforts because it ensures that consistent messages about a healthy, safe campus reach students wherever they are. Create a coalition to address sexual violence prevention and response. Include the following people/groups: o Title IX Coordinator o Women’s Center or other on-campus anti-violence organization o Student Life/Student Activities o Student Conduct Office o Health Services o Counseling Services o Housing/Residence Life o Campus Safety o Pan-Hellenic and Interfraternity Council o Academic Department Chairs o International Student Services o Campus Ministry o Diversity Office o Center for Students with Disabilities o Campus and Local Law Enforcement o Human Resources o Athletics o Office of Sponsored Research o Marketing o Faculty Development o Women’s Faculty Caucus • Engage local agencies that specialize in these issues. Contact your state’s sexual assault coalition (National Sexual Violence Resource Center [NSVRC], 2014) for information about the local rape crisis center in your community (http://www.nsvrc.org/organizations/state-and-territory-coalitions). • Work with your campus anti-violence coalition to create a comprehensive prevention plan (The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, 2014b) to address sexual violence. Include diverse strategies that will address multiple segments of the campus population (https://www.notalone.gov/assets/prevention-overview.pdf). • Use data and research to better understand the nature of sexual violence on your campus. You can pull from existing data on reports of sexual violence, information from student surveys or focus groups, or conduct a Climate Survey (The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault, 2014a) (https://www.notalone.gov/assets/ovw-climate-survey.pdf). EDUCATE • Coordinate with your on-campus sexual violence advocates and/or the local rape crisis center to conduct ongoing, mandatory training for faculty, staff, and students. • As you work to improve your campus’ prevention efforts, share them with other colleges and universities. We are all in this together. MODEL • Actively model respectful, equitable behavior to faculty, staff, and students. • Intervene (NSVRC, 2013) when you see inappropriate behavior. If students or colleagues make sexist comments or joke about rape or dating violence, speak up and say that this is not tolerated on your campus (http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_bulletin_engaging-bystanders-prevent-sexual-violence_0.pdf). LEARN MORE • American Association of University Women Ending Campus Sexual Assault Toolkit (http://www.aauw.org/resource/campus-sexual-assault-tool-kit/) • American College Health Association Sexual Violence Resources (http://www.acha.org/topics/violence.cfm) • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Preventing Sexual Violence on College Campuses: Lessons from Research and Practice (https://www.notalone.gov/assets/preventing-sexual-violence-on-college-campuses-lessons-from-research-and-practice.pdf) • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sexual Violence Prevention: Beginning the Dialogue (http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/SVPrevention-a.pdf) • Clery Center For Security On Campus (http://clerycenter.org/) • Department of Education Questions and Answers on Title IX and Sexual Violence (http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/qa-201404-title-ix.pdf) • Futures Without Violence/Avon Foundation Beyond Title IX: Guidelines for Preventing and Responding to Gender-based Violence in Higher Education (http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/PublicCommunications/beyondtitleIXfinal.pdf) • Know Your IX (http://knowyourix.org/) • NASPA - Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education Understanding Campus Obligations for Student-to-Student Sexual Harassment Guidance for Student Affairs Professionals (http://www.naspa.org/rpi/reports/legal-links-volume-1-issue-1) • National Alliance to End Sexual Violence Policy Statement: Campus Sexual Assault(http://endsexualviolence.org/files/NAESVCampusSexualAssaultPolicyStatementFinal-2.pdf) • National Sexual Violence Resource Center (http://www.nsvrc.org/) • PreventConnect.org online resource center • The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assaultwww.notalone.gov • White House Dear Colleague letter on campus sexual violence (http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/dear_colleague_sexual_violence.pdf) References Krebs, C. P., Lindquist, C. H., Warner, T. D., Fisher, B. S., & Martin, S. L. (2007). The Campus Sexual Assault (CSA) Study (NCJ 221153). Retrieved from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/221153.pdf National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2013). Engaging bystanders to prevent sexual violence: Bulletin. Retrieved from http://www.nsvrc.org/sites/default/files/publications_nsvrc_bulletin_engaging-bystanders-prevent-sexual-violence_0.pdf National Sexual Violence Resource Center. (2014). State and territory coalitions. Retrieved from http://www.nsvrc.org/organizations/state-and-territory-coalitions The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. (2014a). Climate surveys: Useful tools to help colleges and universities in their efforts to reduce and prevent sexual assault. Retrieved from https://www.notalone.gov/assets/ovw-climate-survey.pdf The White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. (2014b). Establishing prevention programming: Strategic planning for campuses. Retrieved from https://www.notalone.gov/assets/prevention-overview.pdf *Definition adapted from NotAlone.gov